HV 8352 
.A7 
1851 
Copy 1 





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REPORT ' 



Select Committee of tl)e ^semblg of 1S51, 



APPOINTED TO EXAMINE INTO THE 



AFFAIRS AND CONDITION 



STATE PRISONS 



OF THIS STATE. 



Transmitted to the Legislature, January 7, 1852, 



CHARLES VAN BENTHUYSEN, PRINTER TO THE, LEGISLATURE, 



407 Broadway, Albany. 



[1—073.] 



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! UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



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State of ^elH^orlu 



No. 20. 



IN ASSEMBLY, JAN 7, . 1852. 



REPORT 

Of the Committee appointed to examine the several 

State Prisons. 

Albany j January lth y 1852. 
To the Hon. Jonas C. Heartt, Speaker of the Assembly : 

Sir — We herewith transmit to you the accompanying report 
of the select committee appointed at the last session of the Le- 
gislature to investigate the fiscal affairs, general management and 
discipline of the different State Prisons. 
Yours respectfully, 

GEORGE UNDERWOOD, 
GEORGE E. BAKER, 
JOHN H. WOOSTER, 
ALEXANDER H. GRAHAM, 
CHARLES C. SEVERANCE. 



{Assembly, No. 20.] 1 [u. n. 5t &500] 



RETORT. 



The committee to which was referred the duty of examining 
into the fiscal affairs and general management and discipline of 
the Auburn, Clinton and Sing Sing Prisons, under the resolution 
of the Assembly, passed April 17, 1851, 

REPORT : 

That in the discharge of their duty they have visited the 
several State Prisons and have taken much testimony, which they 
herewith submit to the Assembly. Many things which they 
gathered from personal inspection and which do not appear in 
the depositions, will be found stated or alluded to in the report 
itself. 

In discharging their duty, the committee have been anxious to 
carry out the wishes of the Assembly, and at the same time an- 
swer the expectations of the people, who are fortunately more 
alive than formerly to the workings of our penitentiary system 
and more conscious of its importance to the well being of society. 
A growing interest is manifest in the community in the whole 
subject of crime, its treatment, prevention, &c, and it will no 
longer answer to pay a merely superficial attention to the sub- 
ject, nor will it be tolerated that the report of an investigating 
committee be nothing more than an instrument for white-washing 
the public officers connected with it. A rigid and thorough ex- 
amination, and that often repeated, will be necessary, not only 
that the officers of our prisons may be kept up to a strict and full 
performance of their whole duty, but that the Legislature may 
be enabled to judge what corrective to apply to evils that may 
be. found to exist, and what improvements wisdom may suggest* 



4 [Assembly 

This is the more necessary because under the present state of 
our law, there is in fact no inspection of the State prisons. Those 
who are called Inspectors, supervise only their own conduct, and 
there is no one whose duty it is to supervise and inspect them. And 
until a radical change in this respect shall be effected it will be 
necessary for the Legislature to frequently send out its commit- 
tees of investigation, or various abuses will creep in and take 
fast hold, to the great detriment of the usefulness of our prison 
government. 

The testimony herewith submitted may possibly be deemed 
voluminous or accumulative, but the committee feel desirous of 
spreading before the Legislature as large an amount of informa- 
tion on the subject as possible, and of directing its attention 
thereto rather than to the opinions and conclusions of the com- 
mittee. 

And it is mainly for this reason that your committee have not 
felt called upon to offer in their report, extended comments upon 
every topic of importance or even to advert t to some which might 
be considered important. A few subjects, however, suggest them- 
selves for discussion. 

INSPECTORS. 

One of the first objects of the committee was to ascertain in what 
manner the various officers had performed their respective duties. 
Beginning with the Inspector nearly every officer was closely ex- 
amined under oath, as will be seen in the testimony accompany- 
ing this report. 

It does not appear to your committee that the Inspectors either 
fulfil the expectations of the framers of the Constitution that 
created them, or comply with the requisitions of the statutes that 
govern them. A small portion only of their time is spent at the 
prisons, whereas the most constant attention of one of them at 
each of the prisons, is required for the interest of the State and 
the welfare of the prisoner. At present there is room to believe, 
that the saying has some truth in it, that " the contractors rule 



No. 20.] 5 

the prisons." The contractors are generally men of wealth, 
talent and power, and while every officer of the Prison is changed 
(as will appear) once in two years, the contractor may be said to 
be a permanent officer, and the only permanent officer connected 
with the prison. Their contracts run for five years, and are 
generally renewed from time to time, so that " once a contractor 
always a contractor," has become the rule. Under these circum- 
stances it will be seen that the Inspector is an officer of the first 
importance, and that his duties must, of necessity, if the State is 
properly served, be arduous and constant. From the fact that 
almost any abuse will be sooner tolerated than a deficiency in 
the receipts of the Prison, the finances is almost the only subject 
that engages his attention, if we except the appointment of offi- 
cers. Instead of visiting the prisons hurriedly once a month, he 
should spend weeks at a time in the prison walls, gain the confi- 
dence of the convicts, see that abuses are not practised or suffered 
to go unredressed, and see that the health and improvement of 
the convicts are not sacrificed to the interests of the contractor, 
or the ease and passions of the subordinate officers. We are 
convinced that this is the only line of duty that can be pursued 
with success, and that it has as yet, been but imperfectly per- 
formed. 

One very great mischief and serious evil now existing, is to be 
found in the frequent changes of officers. To become a good 
officer reou'TNPS rrmch tpota Vnotylp'lo^ atjH pvr>£>vi«noA than is 
generally supposed ; and it is a long time after a new officer en- 
ters upon his duty, before he becomes, even under the most favor- 
able circumstances, fully competent to discharge it. It is not 
like a man's driving a herd of oxen or working a piece of ma- 
chinery, the whole mechanism of which he can learn in a short 
time. But it is controlling the minds ol men, no two of which 
are alike — it is curbing their tempers, whose manifestations are 
infinitely various — it is directing their motives which are as di- 
verse as their personal appearance or physical conformation. 
And it requies an intimate knowledge, if not of human nature 
at large, at least of the habits, tempers and dispositions of the 
men immediately under their charge. 



6 [Assembly 

Besides, the prisoners are generally men, whose faculties have 
been sharpenedjjby their previous vicious career, and they resort 
to numberless devices to evade the laws of the prison and de- 
ceive their keepers. And this can be counteracted only by supe- 
rior acuteness or by the advantage of long experience. 

These remarks are also true in respect to the superior officers, 
who have not immediate charge of gangs of men. True of the 
agent, because he is liable to be imposed upon by those, of whom 
he makes his purchases as well as those with whom he contracts 
for the labor of the prisoners : True of the warden, because of 
his liability to imposition not only from the prisoners, but from 
his keepers and the clerks or agents of the contractors : True of 
the surgeon, because liable to be imposed upon by feigned ail- 
ments, and true of the chaplain, because he must often meet 
pretended piety and false professions of reformation. 

Under such circumstances, the most gifted man would be the 
better for experience, and the less gifted would be more valuable 
than him, if he had experience enough to be fully awake to all 
the devious windings which fraud and cunning devise to accom- 
plish their selfish purposes. 

The amount of compensation allowed to the officers is so small, 
that a high order of talent cannot be pressed into the service of 
the State. We cannot expect all the virtues in the world for 
$1 ,37 a day, and we must therefore rely upon experience to make 
up the deficiency. 

This consideration, so evidently the dictate of good sense, 
seems to be entirely overlooked in the government of our prisons, 
and changes occur, among the officers, from whim, caprice or 
political motives, with a frequency that is utterly subversive of 
good government, as will be seen by the following statements. 



No. 20.] 



AUBURN PRISON. 



Statements of appointment of Agents since 1835 to the present 

time, 1851. 

Agent's names. When appointed. Term of service. 

Levi Lewis, April 7th, 1834, ... 2 years, 2 months. 

JohnGarrow, May 30,1836, 2 « 

Elam Lynds, April 25, 1838, .... 1 " 

Noyes Palmer, May 9, 1839, 1 " 

Robert Cook, April 20, 1840, 1 " 

Henry Polhemus, May 14, 1840, 3 « 

John Beardsley, March 15, 1843,. . . . 2 « 

Russel Chappel, May 27, 1845, 3 " 

Abram Gridley, January 5, 1848, .... 1 " 

Henry Underwood, ,.. " 6,1849,.... 1 " 

Benj.Ashby, « 9,1850,.... 1 " 

Charles W.Pomeroy,.. " 18, 1851,.... 
12 in 18 years, Average 1£ years. 

AUBURN PRISON. 

Statement of appointment of Keepers or Wardens since 1840 to the 
present time, 1850. Previous to 1840 the two offices of Agent 
and Keeper were vested in one office. 

Names. When appointed. Term of service. 

Robert Cook, May 14, 1840, 3 years. 

W. F. Doubleday, . . . . March 16, 1843, 2 " 

Hiram Rathbun, May 27, 1845, 1 " 

David Foot, March 15, 1846, 2 " 

Edward L. Porter,, ...January 5, 1848, 1 " 

James E. Tyler, « 9,1849, 2 « 

Wm. Sunderlin, « 18,1851. 

7 in 12 years, Average 1 5-7 years, 

It needs no argument to prove how detrimental to the interest 
of the State are such frequent changes. The opinion we fear is 
too prevalent that any person is good enough for a prison officer 
provided his politics are right. Nothing but the apathy of the 
public in relation to prison matters has so long permitted this 
evil to prevail. 



8 [Assembly 

In the selection of the chief and subordinate officers it should 
be a cardinal point that they are fitted both by nature and edu- 
cation for the important stations they are to fill. They should 
possess a combination of a strong mind with true benevolence y 
deep penetration, undoubted integrity, prompt decision, great 
firmness, and an intimate knowledge of the human heart. .But 
it is to be feared that too often these qualifications are lost sight 
of in a desire to reward a political friend. Care should also be 
taken to avoid the appointment of superfluous and sinecure offi- 
cers. And here we might call attention to the fact that at Sing 
Sing Prison the committee found an officer called an Architect, 
receiving a salary of $1,200 per annum — larger than that of any 
other officer of the prison. This officer is wholly unknown to 
the law and appears to be entirely useless. 

Another more serious evil connected with the government of 
our prisons, and which more, than any other lays at the founda- 
tion of others, is the perversion of the office of Inspector, arising 
partly from the law and partly from their practice. 

It is an abuse of terms to call them Inspectors. They are in 
fact governors of the prison. They have the entire control, they 
direct all the affairs, and they appoint all the officers, and all 
that they inspect is their own conduct and that of their servants. 

And then for their own convenience they allot the three pri- 
sons among themselves, each taking one, and each by this arrange- 
ment being the absolute governor of that one, subject only to 
the control of his associates, which by this arrangement is merely 
nominal. 

The mischiefs flowing from this state of things are very numer- 
ous and serious. 

One of the Inspectors was examined before the committee and 
stated that during the year he had twice visited the prisons which 
were not under his peculiar charge, once he had been excused 
from meeting by his associates and had visited his own prison 
once a month, for a few days at a time. 

Any one, in the least acquainted with prison matters, must be 
aware that it is impossible for an Inspector to do his duty to the 



No. 20.] 9 

State at large or to the prisoners by such a mode of discharging 
it. A striking illustration of this truth is shown in one of his 
answers to the inquiries of the committee. Sections 44 and 45 
of the act of 1848, direct the erection in each prison of separate 
cells for the purposes of punishment ; and when this Inspector 
was asked by us, if such cells had been erected in the prison, un- 
der his particular charge, he answered " I am not able to say." 

This absence of salutary supervision soon becomes known to 
every one connected with the prisons. Officers, contractors and 
prisoners all know it and are ready to take advantage of it. This 
Inspector was not able to tell of the difficulties or disorders at 
his prison which others described and for a very good reason. 
He had never taught the prisoners that they had in him a pro- 
tector against the exactions of contractors and the abuses of the 
officers — never taught the contractors that there was any one to 
curb or regulate their cupidity, or the officers that they had a 
jealous master, carefully guarding against their oppression or 
tyranny. And while other persons were able to give us accounts 
of various violations of the law in his prison, he seemed to be 
utterly unconscious of their existence. 

The duty of the chief officer of the prison in respect to con- 
tractors, officers and prisoners, must necessarily be imperfectly 
discharged under such a state of things. 

The interest of the contractors is in direct conflict with that of 
the State and the welfare of the prisoners. The contract system, 
though it is beneficial in regard to the finances is in every other 
respect injurious, and its operation must be watched with the 
utmost vigilance, to prevent very disastrous consequences. Their 
interest is to get as much labor out of the convicts as possible 
and at as low a price as possible, and to get from the officers as 
many gratuitous privileges as they can. And it appears that the 
contractors are allowed to fix the amount of w r ork which each 
convict shall perform, that complaints are made by the prisoners 
that they are overworked sometimes to an injurious extent — that 
these complaints have been sometimes attended to by the subor- 
dinate officers but by the Inspectors never ! It also appears, in two 
cases, one at Auburn and one at Sing Sing, that contractors have 



10 [Assembly 

'been allowed to have the labor at less than the contract price, 
and in one of the cases, under circumstances which create some 
distrust as to the integrity of some of the officers It also ap- 
pears that the contractors are allowed to have many of what are 
called half-pay men, under the pretence of their being disabled. 
In Sing Sing that has been carried so far that T \ of the men let 
to contractors are half-pay men. At Auburn it is yet worse, for 
out of 636 let to contractors 184 are charged at half-pay, 15 at | 
pay, 3 at J, 6 given as invalids, for whom no charge is made, and 
11 at a reduction ©f 6 cents from 46, the contract price, or more 
than one-third of the whole number given to the contractors at prices 
less than they have agreed to give for them. 

This is an old trick of the contractors, and it arises sometimes 
in this manner : A convict becomes sick and goes into the hos- 
pital. In time he becomes better and is convalescent. It is bet- 
ter for h'm to be in the shop than in the hospital, and he is 
returned to it with instructions to work only a little, J, £, or | 
ot an ordinary stint. He is entered upon the roll of the shop- 
keeper accordingly and remains so for months and years, though 
his health has been restored in a few days, and he all the time 
doing a full days' work. It is in a thousand ways, the interest of 
the keeper to be on good terms with the contractors, and he can 
always plead, " I was ordered to put him on half-pay and have 
never been ordered otherwise," or " I found him on half-pay 
when I took the shop, and have had no orders to alter it," and 
thus the matter goes on, the number constantly augmenting, to 
the great advantage of the contractor, until it includes one-third 
of all the men, as in Auburn, or T \ as at Sing Sing. 

Six or seven years ago, as we are informed, this contrivance 
was detected at Sing Sing, and the convicts who were put down 
as half-pay men, on the ground of being invalids, and had been 
rated as such for months, were surprised at it, they doing full 
work, and being rated as invalids merely for the purpose of bene- 
fiting the contractors, but without conferring upon them any 
exemption from labor. 

Hence probably it is that there is so great a disparity between 
the number of half-pay men at Auburn and Sing Sing at the pre- 



No. 20.] 11 

sent time. It is a work of time to get the number very large. 
At Sing Sing, it has been the work of six or seven years only. 
How long it has been going on at Auburn we do not know. 

This must be the explanation of this matter, or the Auburn 
prison must be very unhealthy as compared with Sing Sing ; for 
at Auburn, out of 636 men let to contractors, 219 are rated as 
invalids ; while at Sing Sing, out of 592 on contract, 47 only are 
so rated. 

The remedy for this evil is very simple. If one of the In- 
spectors would but spend a few hours in going round to the shops, 
and himself personally examining the men who are thus under 
rated, the whole thing would be remedied. But while the re- 
medy is thus simple, it is most apparent that there has not been 
that rigid inspection of the prisons which the interest of the State 
demands. 

But these are not all the evils which spring from the contract 
system when there is not a rigid inspection. There are numer- 
ous modes in which an experienced contractor can make the 
property and interest of the State available to the advancement 
of his own interest. In shop-room, in shop-furniture, in fuel, in 
waiters, in numerous little jobs done for them, in giving time for 
their payments, in making extra allowances or deductions, and 
various ways that may be constantly aggressing upon the State 
nnless very closely watched. Some instances of this are dis- 
closed in the accompanying testimony, one where the railroad 
contractors, one of whom was a nephew to the warden of the 
prison, was charged with his men at a reduction of 33J per cent 
on the contract price. Another where a contractor was charged 
at a reduction of 16| per cent. Another where a keeper took 
out men on Sunday to work for a contractor, the keeper expect- 
ing pay therefor from the contractor. And another, where the con- 
tract was so altered as to be " worth to the contractor from §.]5,- 
000 to $8,000 more than if let according to the bid." 

These are some of the considerations which show the necessity 
of greater vigilance in respect to the contractors than can be ex- 
pected under the present practice of the Inspectors. 



12 [Assembly, 

In regard to the deportment of the officers, equal vigilance is 
required. The present system of supplying the prisons by pur- 
chases made by the agent, is liable to great abuses. Do the In- 
spectors carefully examine whether the agent purchases on as 
favorable terms as he can ! Do they investigate whether all the 
articles paid for are actually delivered 1 Or whether if delivered, 
they are of the quality or quantity they profess to be 1 All these 
are inquiries which any prudent man would make in his own 
business, and the committee cannot conceive how they can be 
satisfactorily made by such inspections as are now prevalent. 

The pertinency of these inquiries is manifest from this iact 
among others. In Sing Sing in 1844 there were 935 prisoners, 
and the monthly cost of support was $2,338.17, or $2.50 a month 
for each prisoner. In 1850, the number of prisoners was 765, 
and the monthly cost of support was $2,984.54, or $3.90 a month 
for each prisoner. 

Are the Inspectors aware of this, or can they give any good 
reason for this increase of near 60 per cent, in the cost of sup- 
porting the prisoners ? 

To carry the inquiry a step farther, to show the insufficiency of 
such an inspection, the committee call attention to the total ex- 
penditures of that prison for those years. 

In 1844, the number of prisoners was 935. The expenses were 
as follows : 

Buildings, $2,027 32 

Convict support, 28,058 08 

Other disbursements, 34,129 68 



Total, $64,215 08 

Or $68.71 per year for each prisoner. 

In 1850, the number of prisoners was 765. The expenses were 
as follows : 

For building purposes, $16,474 06 

eonvict support, 35,814 47 

other purposes, 43,540 1 1 



Total. $95,828 64 



No. 20.] 13 

Or $123.93 per year for each prisoner; or an increase of about 
80 per cent. 

By descending to particulars, it will be seen in some measure 
how this extraordinary increase has arisen. 

For salaries of officers, 

In 1844, $15,984 95 

In 1850, 21,990 88 

Increase, $6,005 93 

For pay of guard, 

In 1844, $9,539 50 

In 1850, 11,968 25 

Increase, $2,428 75 



Thus while the number of prisoners has diminished some 18 
per cent., the expense of guarding them has increased some 25 
per cent. 

And in the same manner, the total expenses 

Of provisions, have increased, $7,652 74 

hospital stores, « 929 33 

clothing and bedding, 685 51 

At the rate at which the prison was supported in 1844, the 
sum total of its expenses in 1850 ought to have been $52,563.15, 
whereas it was $95, 828.64 ; and then the draft upon the State 
Treasury which was made in 1850, for $41,587.50, might have 
been dispensed with. 

Another item deserves a moment's consideration. 

During the four years the present system of inspection has been 
in existence, the sum expended in " Building and Repairs" in 
that prison has been $26,296.32, but during the preceding four 
years it was $7,632.76, or a little more than a quarter as much. 

While such has been the effect upon the finances in the absence 
of a proper supervision, its influence upon the government of the 
prisons has been equally injurious. 



14 [Assembly 

The annexed testimony shows a number of cases in which pris- 
oners have been harshly and cruelly treated by the officers, to 
such an extent that health has been injured in some instances, 
and in one where there is much reason to believe that life was 
shortened. In several instances prisoners have been struck and 
beaten in violation of law. 

But upon the prisoners themselves the effect must have been 
still more injurious. They have been left almost entirely at the 
mercy of the contractors and keepers. The interest of the con- 
tractors tends to lead them to regard the convicts only in the 
light of machines from which to procure as much labor as possi- 
ble. There are contractors whose moral sense is higher than 
their love of accumulation, and who feel compassion for the fal- 
len men who labor for them. But all are not so. 

And as to the keepers, reason and all experience show that the 
possession and constant exercise of arbitrary power, and the daily 
and hourly contact with the evil passions which yet reign among 
the erring men, with whom almost all their waking moments are 
spent, will tend to corrupt and harden them. From the aggres- 
sions which may justly be apprehended from these two causes, 
the law has provided an adequate protection in the Inspectors. 
If that is withdrawn and the prisoners feel that they have no ap- 
peal from the action of those whose interest or passion causes 
their suffering, it is vain to expect any great reformatory effect 
from our penitentiary system. 

If the intention is merely to keep prisoners from depredating 
on society, the purpose is tolerably well answered by our system 
as at present administered, during the time the convict remains 
within the walls of the prison. But if the object is to make him 
a better member of society, so that he may safely again mingle 
with it — and that surely is the object, for with few exceptions all 
are again turned loose upon the world — that purpose cannot be 
answered by matters as they now stand. And upon the Inspec- 
tors more than upon any one else does that great duty devolve. 

They alone are not brought into immediate and frequent con- 
tact with the prisoners, and are unaffected by the contamination 



No. 20.] 15 

of their evil passions. They have no interest to be served by over- 
working them. They can have no inducement to treat them un- 
kindly. They have it in their power to shed throughout the whole 
system a healthy reformatory influence. They can teach the con- 
victs directly and through their subordinates, the great lesson, (the 
neglect or ignorance of which has sunk them so low,) of the infinite 
value of truth and justice in every relation of life. They can remove 
from the prisoner's minds the idea which so often prevents their 
reformation, and causes so many of them to fall again, that the 
hand of every man is against them. And from their prison house 
they can send them into the world with aspirations for good, and 
can cheer the rising hope that may be awakened within them. 

But this great duty, in which more than in any thing else con- 
nected with our prisons, society is most interested, cannot be per- 
formed by visiting the prisons only once or twice in a year, and 
that only for a few days — by so arranging private business as to 
be unable to perform a public duty, nor by pleading that they are 
"excused by the other members of the board," but only by that 
devotion to public duties voluntarily assumed, which our people 
exact from all their public servants. 

The committee see no remedy for the evils which they have 
but faintly pictured, but in a radical change of system. The 
inspectors have the whole control, the whole power of appoint- 
ment and inspection centered in themselves, and there are scarcely 
any means of detecting tlieir aberrations from duty, except an 
occasional investigation Jike this. 

Much good might have been done, if the act of the Legislature, 
passed May 9, 1846, had not been practically nullified by the 
Inspectors. That law provided for an annual inspection of the 
State Prisons under the directions of the Chancellor or a judge of 
the Supreme Court or circuit judge, by members of the " Prison 
Association" thereby incorporated, and directed them to " annu- 
ally report to the Legislature, their state and condition, and all 
such other things in regard to them as may enable the Legisla- 
ture to perfect their government and discipline." 

That law was for a while faithfully executed and several 
reports were made to the Legislature replete with valuable infor- 



16 [A 



SSEMBLY 



mation which had never before been obtained in respect to the 
workings of our penitentiary system. The inspections were made 
by persons of high standing, over whom neither contractors nor 
officers could exert any influuce, and a most salutary influence 
was produced by the constant apprehension of an inspection, 
which no acts of theirs could color or affect. Facts of much 
importance thus found their way to the ear of the Legislature 
which were not found in the reports of the Inspectors. But in 
1848 the Inspectors adopted a regulation which allowed those 
inspections only upon conditions which would render them 
utteily valueless, namely, that they should be conducted only in 
the presence of some officer of the prisons, to be selected by the 
Inspectors, and thus closing the door to the reception of informa- 
tion which could not be asked or expected under such penalties 
as the Inspectors might inflict on those who gave it. 

That subject is so clearly stated in a letter from one of the 
Vice Presidents* of the association, published in their last annual 
report, that the committee hereto annex some extracts from it : 

" One of the most valuable features attending the inspections by 
the Association, and it is one which never attends the inspections 
of the public officers, is the personal examination of each pris- 
oner, which the Association always exacted of its committees of 
examination. It is exceedingly difficult to convey an adequate 
idea of the irksomeness and pain of executing this task in such a 
manner as not to interfere with the discipline or the labor of the 
prisons. I have, myself, stood day after day, for hours at a time, 
at the doors of the cells of the prisoners, listening to the details 
of human depravity and human suffering, until the sickness of 
the heart was even more intolerable than the weariness of the 
body. Still it was a duty which our experience told us ought 
not to be omitted, and which our Association rigidly exacted 
from those upon whom they devolved the duty of examination. 

" We, of course, were not unaware of the danger which attended 
these communications. The fear of the officers of the prisons 
often sealed the mouths of the prisoners, and it was not until we 
had gained their confidence that they would speak freely to us. 
And when they did we were also aware that the communications 

« Judge Edmonds. 



& T o. 20.] 17 

we received came sometimes from men too depraved to estimate 
the obligation of truth, and sometimes from men who were fall 
of hatred towards those whose duty it was to restrain their evil 
oassions and vicious conduct within due bounds. We therefore 
know how much allowance to make and what credit to give their 
statements. 

" We found a universal law prevailing among the officers of the 
prisons, that the word of a prisoner must not be taken for any 
thing. Yet we found those officers taking it every day, and in 
all the affairs of the prisons ; we found that the law had made 
their testimeny good in certain cases even when in prison ; we 
found the Governor often pardoning them that they might be 
witnesses ; and we found that from their statements we often ob- 
tained clues to abuses, which enabled us to trace them out and 
ascertained their existence by irrefragable testimony. 

" We found more. We found that it was absolutely necessary 
that we should obtain their statements, because to the world at 
large all within the walls was darkness and secrecy, and from 
that source no testimony could be obtained, and from the officers 
we could not easily procure the knowledge of their own miscon- 
duct. 

" How easy it is for the officers to conceal their own conduct, 
was exemplified to me when I was an Inspector at Sing Sing. 

" I was astonished and worried by frequent complaints of the 
prisoners that they did not get enough to eat, and I gave per- 
emptory orders that they should have enough. I directed the 
assistant keepers to send their men to the kitchen whenever they 
complained. One of them, who saw that one of his best work- 
men could not do a day's labor from weakness, sent him to the 
kitchen in vain. He went himself and could get no food for his 
man. He then complained to the principal keeper. That officer 
when he found out who it was complained, beat him over the 
head with an iron rule until it broke in his hand, then beat him 
with the hardwood handle of a stone hammer, and when that 
flew out of his hands, from his own violence, attacked him with 
a stone axe and would have struck him with it in his passion, if 
he had not been prevented. The poor convict was then tied up 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 2 



18 [Assembly 

and whipped with some fifty lashes of the cat and ended the in- 
cident by some two weeks confinement in the hospital, and all 
for having complained of being hungry. 

" Although I was frequently at the prison and gave to its aflairs 
as close inspection as any Inspector ever had done, months elapsed 
before this outrage was made known to me ; and it was not until 
a committee of the Legislature was sent down to investigate the 
affairs of the prison, that I learned that the keeper had been in 
the habit of subduing by starvation the prisoners of whom he 
was afraid. 

- "It was so easy for the officers to conceal even from me, with 
all my attention and vigilance, their abuses of authority and 
wanton cruelty. 

" Hence the wisdom and propriety of receiving the statements 
of prisoners though receiving them cautiously and with many 
allowances ; and hence the rule of the Association, upon which 
they acted while they were allowed the opportunity of investi- 
gating them, to receive them but never to give them to the world 
unless supported by other and satisfactory evidence. 

" The aid which the Association was disposed to give to dis- 
charged convicts brought to their office many such persons, and 
their statements were listened to as a matter of duty. Its officers 
were prohibited by the conduct of the Inspectors from investiga- 
ting the truth of those statements. They were made by different 
persons at different times, and under circumstances which pre- 
cluded the idea of pre concert. They worked conviction in the 
minds of the officers of the Association. What should they do % 

" If they concealed them, who was to know the complaints of 
the prisoners, and who redress their wrongs. What ear was 
opened to their complaints but ours % And where could they 
resort for relief but to us % 

" Warned by our own experience, we would have investigated 
their complaints with due allowance for exaggerations of passion 
and depravity ; but by the conduct of the Inspectors we were 
deprived of the opportunity of investigation, and we were placed 



No. 20.] 19 

in the alternative of either utterly suppressing the information 
we received, or of calling the attention of the Legislature to it by 
incorporating it in our report. 

" I cannot for a moment entertain a doubt that it was the duty 
of the Association, under its act of incorporation, to communi- 
cate to the Legislature the information it obtained, and I cannot 
but feel that it would have been wanting in its duty if it had 
omitted to do so. 

"If all is right in the government of the prisons, their officers 
have nothing to fear from the investigations of candid and dis- 
passionate men. If matters are wrong there, the Association 
cannot, without a dereliction of duty, refrain from speaking the 
truth in soberness and sincerity. 

" Such are the results to which I have been brought by the 
investigations to which I was invited by the letter of Mr. Wells ; 
and, under the circumstances, I feel that I should do wrong if I 
hesitated in expressing my conviction of» the propriety of the 
course pursued by the Association. 

" The views which I have thus taken of the duties of the As- 
sociation are commended to my favor by this additional conside- 
ration : 

" Under our present Constitution, and the laws enacted pur- 
suant to it, our State prisons are thrown entirely into the political 
arena, and become the foot-ball of party politics. 

" At every ehange of parties, men are to be thrust in or out of 
their government, not according to their fitness for the station, 
but according to their party attachments ; and the Inspectors, 
though called such, are in fact governors of the institutions, 
clothed with the patronage of appointment and" the absolute 
power of government. Over their department there is no super- 
vision, except that which is conferred by the Legislature on this 
Association, or that which may from time to time be exercised 
by legislative committees. The difficulty of obtaining from the 
Legislature a committee of investigation is notoriously great. 
Their examinations must, of necessity, be fitful and uncertain ; 
while those of this Association must, while their act of incorpo- 



20 [Assembly 

ration is permitted to continue, be steady and enduring, and be 
conducted by men who, from their experience, are able to trace 
the devious windings of fraud to its most concealed recesses. 

" It is a matter of regret that, while the Inspectors recognize 
the importance and necessity of establishing a supervisory power 
over them, thay should struggle against such supervision in the 
hands of men over whom they can exercise no control, and whose 
conduct they can in no wise influence. 

" The supervision of this Association is always under the con- 
trol of the Legislature, and how far or how long it will allow it 
to continue, must necessarily be submitted to their wisdom. But 
until it shall be positively withdrawn, it seems to me that it is 
the duty of the Association, as far as it shall be permitted, to 
exercise the power conferred upon it by the act of the Legisla- 
ture, and to discharge the duty imposed along with it, without 
fear, favor, or affection • for I see no other means, under the law 
as it now stands, of exposing to the Legislature or the public any 
misconduct of the Inspectors, or of such of their subordinates as 
they may be disposed to screen. And if, by the contumacy of 
the officers of the prison, it shall be prevented from making its 
investigations as thorough as they ought to be, it ought to go as 
far as it may be permitted ; and, above all, not withhold from the 
Legislature any information which it may possess, and which 
may tend to elicit the truth. 

I am, very respectfully, &c, 

J. W. EDMONDS." 

Those inspections for this cause ceased in 1848, and the con- 
sequences have already been pointed out. 

Perhaps if the Legislature should peremptorily require those 
inspections to be made and provide for the actual expense of ma- 
king them, some, if not all the evils already alluded to, would 
be remedied. It is quite certain that if they were continued 
much valuable information might be obtained, which otherwise 
would be lost. 

Still there are evils in the present state of things which even 
that remedy would not reach. One, and the chief one is, that 



No. 20.] 21 

the prisons are governed by the same body whose duty it is to 
inspect that government. 

The Inspectors ought to have no power of appointment, but 
the power to remove any officer for cause, for it would be thus 
alone, that they could redress the evils they might detect. 

The government of each prison might be devolved upon a 
board of three governors, chosen or appointed in each prison dis- 
trict for a long term, without pay, and going out of office at dif- 
ferent periods and removable like every other officers for cause. 

By this mode the frequent changes of officers which have been 
a very serious evil, would be avoided. The prisons would cease 
to.be party machines for the reward or punishment of active 
political partisans, and the whole government and conduct of 
them would be subject to the salutary restraint of Inspectors, 
chosen by the State at large, and over whom the officers of the 
prisons could exercise no control or injurious influence. 

The committee suggest this remedy in the confident belief that 
it would remove most, if not all the evils which are now serious- 
ly impairing the usefulness of our penitentiary system and sink- 
ing its character in the eyes of the world, from its former high 
and envious position. It is true that it involves an amendment 
of the Constitution, but even this labor would be amply repaid 
by the benefits that would accrue from the proposed change. 

THE AGENT. 

The next officer of importance, or in a pecuniary point of 
view, the most important officer connected with the prisons, is 
the agent. Upon the manner in which he performs his duties 
depends, in a great measure, the fact whether the prison supports 
itself. And it is to this result that everything is made to tend. 
Reformation, health, humanity and life itself, are in constant 
danger of being sacrificed to this object. Does the Warden order 
a greater amount of food or clothing or a change in the quality — 
does the chaplain ask for lamps to enable the prisoners to read 
in their cells — does the physician prescribe a respite from labor — 
the ever vigilant agent is very likely to interpose the powerful 



22 [Assembly 

argument of economy and the promptings of humanity are 
silenced, While this is is not always the case, in fact, a natural 
tendency in that direction is obvious. 

At Auburn this feeling has been carried to such an extent that 
the agent, a few years ago, completely usurped the duties of the 
physician and refused to be governed by his directions, in rela- 
tion to the food of the prisoners and other matters, simply on the 
ground of expense.* 

By an act of the Legislature, Sec. 44, page 603, Laws of 1847, 
the Inspectors were directed to cause to be built at Sing Sing and 
Auburn, 20 cells or large rooms, and five at Clinton, each cell to 
contain in dimensions not less than 996 cubic feet, sufficiently 
lighted and ventilated for the separate confinement of certain 
prisoners while at work, as well as at night. These cells are deem- 
ed of great importance, for it has been found that a very large 
majority of convicts can be kept in perfect discipline with the 
utmost ease, were it not for some dozen or twenty troublesome 
spirits in each prison who are perpetually exciting the rest to 
mischief. These cells are intended for these ungovernable men. 
Excessive punishment, amounting in many cases to downright 
cruelty has ever been the opprobrium of our prisons, and it has 
seemed impossible, with such keepers as political exegencies fur- 
nish, to wholly avoid it, except by a resort to the plan under con- 
sideration. By making the sifting proposed, the management of 
our prisons would be far easier than it now is, and the alleged 
necessity of cruel punishment would be removed. 

Many privileges, the privation of which are annoying, would 
be cheerfully allowed by the keepers, were it not that these few 
would be sure to abuse them. Indeed the advantages of these 
cells seem so numerous and obvious as to scarcely need stating, 
yet because they will cost something, and because men confined 
in them cannot be expected to earn as much as when at work 
in the shops, the first step towards their erection has not yet 
been taken at either prison. f 

•This abuse is very strongly commented apon by Doctor Fosgate in his communication to 
the committee in a subsequent page. 

f It is due to the Inspector in charge at Auburn, whose attention was first called to this sec- 
tion of the Law by your committee, to say that he assured the committee that its require- 
ments should be immediately complied with. 



No. 20.] 23 

A constant conflict is going on between the warden and the 
agent, the latter endeavoring to confine the expenses of the pris- 
on within the narrowest limits, and the former suggesting im 
provements involving more or less expense. For instance at one 
prison, the warden and physician deemed it necessary that the 
supper rations of the convicts should be changed from mush to 
bread, and at another prison the warden insisted that each con- 
vict should be supplied with two shirts, instead of one, in order 
that a change might be made weekly. Although in both cases 
the agent finally yielded to the importunities of the warden ; it 
was very evident that he regarded such indulgencies as needless 
attacks on his system of economy. So also, in regard to light- 
ing the cells, the wardens, chaplains and instructors have for 
years been urging upon the Inspectors and agents, the propriety 
of affording sufficient light during the long winter evenings, to 
enable the convicts to read in their cells. But here again as before 
remarked, the ever ready argument of economy is interposed, and 
the poor prisoner is obliged to while away 14 hours of the 24 in ut- 
ter darkness, to the injury of body, mind and soul. While your 
jcommittee heartily approve of all proper efforts towards economy, 
they would suggest that progress and improvement are not to be 
stayed merely because they cost something. 

The system of contracts at our prisons which is almost entirely 
under the control of the agent, is surrounded with temptations, 
and its workings need frequent and careful scrutiny. It will be 
seen in reading the testimony taken in this investigation, that 
several cases were discovered where undue favor has been shown 
to contractors by officers of the prisons. Thus at Sing Sing prison 
we find a contract, duly made, where the contractors agree to 
pay sixty cents a day for a certain number of convicts. Upon 
examining the time book kept by the keeper of these men, we 
find an aggregate of 5087 \ days work charged at 40 cents a day, 
and 2308 1 at 30 cents ; and we find on a further examination, 
that where these same contractors had paid the full price under 
one agent, that under his successor 20 cents a day was refunded 
to them for 188 days work, making by these deviations from the 
terms of the contract a loss to the state of $2,087.27, and a gain 
to the contractors of an equal amount. And what made thes 



24 [Assembly 

allowances the more unjustifiable, was that it is estimated that 
the contractors made $20,000 by their contract, and that one of 
them was a relative of an influential officer of the prison. [See 
Appendix.] 

In Auburn prison we find a number of men working on con- 
tract at 50 cts. a day, where by the terms of the agreement, 65 J 
cts. a day was to be charged. In this case the former agent felt 
bound, by his obligations to the State, and his oath, to exact the 
full price, although he was directed to the contrary by the In- 
spectors, and finally resigned his office in consequence of the 
difficulties which resulted from his strict construction of his 
duty. The present agent is charging but 50 cts. a day for these 
men without the slightest authority appearing on record for his 
doing so. 

Another wide door is open for fraud in the practice of charg- 
ing but half price for certain convicts where they do not come 
under the description of "healthy, capable, able-bodied men." It 
will be readily seen how easy it is for a dishonest officer who has 
the power of deciding whether a man is a " half-pay man " or a 
" fall pay man," to increase the number of half-pay men on the 
time books to a considerable amount, when they are each one 
actually doing nearly or quite a full day's work. On one con- 
tract the committee found but nine men, out of fifty- two, charged 
at the full contract price. It seems hardly credible that five- 
sixths of all the men in that shop were incapable or disabled by 
disease. [See Appendix.] 

All the prisons are at present supplied with provisions by 
the Agent. This method when faithfully conducted, is un- 
questionably preferable to the system of obtaining supplies by 
contract and advertising for proposals. Under the present plan, 
the Agent purchases the rations and clothing of whomsoever he 
may choose. Under the contract system he was obliged to pro- 
cure his supplies from the lowest bidder. While the latter sys- 
tem seems to guard against the dangers of favoritism and collu- 
sion incident to the former, experience has proved that under the 
latter, contractors are constantly tempted to smuggle in damaged 
and inferior articles ; and when, through the vigilance of the 



No. 20.] 25 

officers, they are unable to " save themselves " by these means, a 
willing Legislature is generally found to grant relief in the shape 
of " extra allowances." So that, in the matter of economy, no- 
thing is really gained by the contract system, while much is often 
lost to the health and comfort of the convicts. But the method 
in use is surrounded with so many temptations and so suscepti- 
ble of abuse that it should be always in honest hands and 
vigilantly guarded. The committee were unable to discover 
any abuses in their investigation of this department at either 
prison ; and they bear willing testimony to the faithful conduct 
of the several agents in this particular. 

The committee would call the attention of the Legislature to 
the manner in which the finances of the prisons are stated in the 
annual reports of the Agents and Inspectors. The receipts and 
expenditures are detailed with great minuteness, but only the 
cash items are included. The debts which the Agent incurs for 
new buildings, repairs, improvements, rations, &c, are never re- 
ported. Neither are the credits which may be allowed to the 
contractors mentioned in the statement. For this reason the 
Legislature obtains no correct idea of the financial condition of 
the prisons from the annual reports. 

Certain sums of money appear under the head of " Receipts," 
and perhaps an equal amount under the head of " Expenditures," 
and the inference is that the prison is supporting itself, while in 
fact it may be, and generally is, in debt several thousands of 
dollars. These debts are paid out of the receipts of the following 
year, and corresponding or increased amounts incurred. So it 
goes on from year to year, until the amount becomes unwieldy, 
and then the Legislature is asked for an appropriation to pay 
" past indebtedness." This method not only furnishes the Legis- 
lature with a very imperfect idea of the prison finances, but leads 
people of other States into error as to the cost of supporting our 
prisons ; for the manner of conducting our prisons is closely 
watched at home and abroad, and carefully compared with the 
systems of other States and nations. 



26 [Assembly 

WARDEN AND KEEPERS. 

There seems to be three interests connected with the prison, 
that of the State, that of the contractor, and that of the prisoner. 
To the warden seems to be entrusted, peculiarly, the last. While 
the agent watches with a careful eye the interests of the State, 
and the obligations of the contractor, the faithful warden will 
guard well the rights of the convict, listen to his complaints and 
protect him from the cupidity of the contractor, or the passions 
of his keeper ; being, in fact, what his name indicates — a guar- 
dian. Your committee are happy to find that the wardens now 
in office so regard the duties of their station. The convicts at 
Auburn and Sing Sing were unanimous and sincere in their tes- 
timony to this effect. At Clinton, the present warden had but 
just entered upon his duties, but a similar feeling existed among 
the convicts in regard to the former warden as at Auburn and 
Sing Sing. It was pleasant to hear from the prisoners expres- 
sions of esteem and affection for their warden in particular, and 
a general satisfaction with all the other officers. A general Reel- 
ing of contentment and resignation throughout all the prisons, 
was an evidence that a very great change in the government of 
convicts has taken place within a few years, and that the days of 
cruelty and barbarity in our large penal institutions are passing 
away. 

To this fact all the old convicts and former keepers bear testi- 
mony. The Clinton prison seems to have been well governed since 
its establishment. At Sing Sing, where, ten years ago, more than a 
hundred blows were struck daily, where the whipping post was 
never dry, now scarcely a blow is ever struck, or punishment 
inflicted for weeks. In Auburn a similar improvement is mani- 
fest. We think we cannot be mistaken in saying that punish- 
ments are every year becoming more infrequent in all our pri- 
sons, and he is now justly regarded as the best officer who allows 
the longest time to elapse without inflicting a punishment. Not- 
withstanding these marked improvements, occasional cases of 
cruelty still occur, and must so long as such dangerous engines 
of torture as the shower bath and yoke are left in the hands of 
imprudent keepers. 



No. 20.] 27 

Many of the subordinate keepers were free in their opinions 
that the shower bath is a much more cruel punishment than the 
cat. But there is one important difference of which they seemed 
not so well convinced, and that is, while the use of the lash hard- 
ens the keeper and stimulates his angry passions, the contempla- 
tion of his victim under the water excites his pity and better 
feelings. The shower-bath cools his passion, while the whip in- 
flames it. 

While many of the subordinate officers in their testimony ex- 
pressed a strong attachment to the use of the lash, they all (re- 
luctantly in some cases) admitted that the discipline of the pri- 
son was as good now as when the " cat " was used, and that the 
punishments had greatly decreased in number and severity, with- 
out detriment to the good order of the prison. When asked how 
they accounted for this ; their reply was, " the convicts, of late 
years, are not such desperate characters as formerly" — evidently 
putting cause for effect. 

Your committee cannot refrain from introducing in this place 
the following testimony of one of the most successful wardens* in 
the country, in favor of the disuse of corporal punishments. He 
says : 

I have long looked upon a man as a man, whether he be the 
occupant of a palace or a prison — and, in whatever situation he 
may be, entitled to human sympathy, kindness and respect. He 
is my brother, wherever he may be, whatever of wrong or of 
©rime he may have been tempted to commit. 

The more he has erred, and strayed from the path of right and 
virtue, the more he is to be pitied, and the louder is his call upon 
our commisseration, our sympathy for his sufferings, and our 
efforts for his reformation, for his restoration to rectitude, to use- 
fulness and happiness. We are all liable to fall into temptation ; 
if it were not so, we should not have all been taught to beseech 
our Father in Heaven to < lead us not into temptation.' I felt 
my own frailties and imperfections, and resolved to do by others 
as I should wish to be done by, if I were in their situation. It 

* F. Robinson, of the Massachusetts State prison. 



28 [Assembly 

seemed to me, therefore, in entering upon the duties of this office, 
if I erred at all I should prefer rather to err on the side of kind- 
ness, clemency and humanity, than on that of severity of punish- 
ments. I knew that the laws, rules, regulations and discipline 
of the prison must be enforced. But I wished, if possible, to 
enforce them without recourse to corporal punishment or physical 
suffering. And I have sncceeded, thus far, as well as I could 
have expected. With the exception of three cases, and those 
soon after I took charge, the government of the prison has been 
administered without corporal punishment. The shower bath 
has not been used. And yet, I think I can safely say, that the 
convicts are as orderly, as industrious and obedient as heretofore, 
and more contented, docile and happy. A feeling of mutual re- 
spect, kindness and friendship seems to be growing up between 
us. I am sure I experience these affections towards the convicts, 
and every day gives evidence that the same affections are being 
excited in their breasts towards me." 

Although the use of the " cat" is so favorably regarded by a 
large portion of the keepers, and its abolition so much deplored, 
your committee cannot believe it necessary at this late day, to 
offer any further arguments in opposition. Those who desire to 
see the subject more fully discussed, are referred to the report of 
committee on State prisons in 1846. Senate document No. 120. 

CHAPLAIN, PHYSICIAN AND INSTRUCTOR. 

P^'The committee speak of the physicians, chaplains and in- 
structors lastly and briefly, not because the importance of their 
offices are underrated, but rather because that importance cannot 
be justly and fully treated in the limits prescribed for this report. 
The great fault which is prominent in connection with all these 
offices is the small amount of time and attention which is bes- 
towed upon their duties, owing perhaps to the meagre salaries 
attached to them. The salary of the instructors is $150 per an- 
num, of the chaplain $600 and of the physicician $500. The 
salaries of the other principal officers (which seem to be moder- 
ate,) are from $1,000 to $1,500 per annum. Whether owing to 
this cause or to some other, the committee are compelled to say 



No. 20.] 29 

that the duties of these several officers are performed, generally, 
in the most superficial manner. If there is any congregation in 
the world that requires a chaplain with a high order of talents 
and a deep devotion to his work, it is a congregation of criminals. 
But a principle the reverse of this seems too often to prevail in 
the appointments to this important office. The same remarks are 
true to some extent in relation to the physician and instructor. 
Until a radical change is made in these departments, our prisons 
must be almost total failures. 

During the investigation of the affairs of the Auburn prison, 
Dr. Blanchard Fosgate, former physician to that prison, was exa- 
mined by the committee, and at the suggestion of the committee, 
this gentleman proposed to communicate in writing his views at 
length upon the government of the prison. 

This communication has been received by the committee, and 
has received their due consideration. It will appear that Dr. 
Fosgate has entered somewhat elaborately into the consideration 
of the subject of the discipline of the convicts, and has enforced 
his views and conclusions by a particular reference to several ca- 
ses of discipline which either came under his immediate inspec- 
tion, or were communicated to him by those cognizant of the 
facts. The committee have no reason to doubt the authenticity 
and correctness of these cases, and concur in the main in the 
views and conclusions expressed in this communication. 

They have therefore attached the same to their report, and re- 
commend for it the favorable consideration of the Legislature. 



CONVICTS, LABOR, REFORMATION, &c. 

Upon no subject has the committee bestowed more attention in 
their investigations than that of convict labor, deeming it one of 
the most interesting and important subjects connected with prison 
discipline, whether considered in relation to the State or the pri- 
soner — interesting to the State, as from this source the prison de- 
rives its revenue — important to the prisoner, as his ability to lead 
a better life after his discharge depends in a great measure upon 
the trade he acquires in prison. It has been well remarked that 



30 [Assembly 

it is a matter of trifling importance to the community whether 
our prisons support themselves or not ; but whether they pour 
out upon society, yearly, several hundred men, reformed in cha- 
racter, able and determined to earn an honest living, or whether 
incapacitated by previous education they are thrown upon the 
community as idlers, and obliged to beg, steal or starve, is a mat- 
ter for serious reflection. In the latter case, besides the moral 
corruption engendered in society, the pecuniary loss from idle- 
ness and depredations must amount to hundreds of thousands of 
dollars annually ; and this burden has to be borne not by the rich 
only, but by the hard working mechanic also ; and is a burden 
which is constantly increasing. In this view, we believe the po- 
licy of restricting mechanical labor in our State Prisons is short- 
sighted and detrimental to the real interests of the whole com- 
munity. 

The State claims and undoubtedly possesses the right to punish 
the violators of its laws ; and at the same time the interests of 
society, as well as the principles of Christianity demand that the 
punishment should be accompanied and followed with some 
means of improvement and reformation. 

We believe that some convicts leave the prison with a sincere 
desire and intent to amend their lives. In the opinion of some 
the number is small, but with those who have had peculiar means 
of judging it is considerable. 

If by voluntary means or by legislation a bare means of sub- 
sistence were offered to discharged convicts on conditions of dili- 
gent labor and good conduct, it is believed that a large propor- 
tion would accept the offer. At present we say to them in effect 
as they leave the prison, " Go and make brick without straw. 7 ' 
Employment is not always at hand even to the honest, much less 
to the branded felon. Hence their old companions are welcomed 
at the prison gate, and poverty and utter friendlessness leave 
them no other alternative than a renewed life of crime. Such a 
result we are bound to guard against as well by considerations of 



No. 20.] 31 

interest as of duty, for it is sure to recoil on society in some form 
of retribution, and it may be in fearful scenes of desolation and 
blood.* 

The following article from the " Penn. Journal of Prison Disci- 
pline," is so pertinent that we are tempted to introduce it : 

"Discharged Convicts. — It was my good or ill fortune to re- 
ceive, a few days ago, from a benevolent friend in a distant city, a 
letter introducing to my notice a very tidily-dressed and well- 
behaved man, who was out of employment, but competent and 
willing to labor, and seeking a place. He could write well — was 
a skilful accountant, and, so far as education and personal man- 
ners are concerned, would not suffer in comparison with many 
men known to me as occupying clerkships worth $700 or $800 
per annum. He was disposed to work, if it were merely for 
coarse food and a decent lodging at night. He was confident of 
his ability to please any one who should employ him ; but he 
was depressed and discouraged by vain applications. It is possi- 
ble that even honest men, of irreproachable character, are some- 
times put to their wit's end in this way, but the man whom my 
friend had sent to me, with a request that I would help him, was 
not of this character. He was a discharged convict. His story 
must be told, or there would be a culpable disingenuousness in 
the attempt to get him a place — and when his story was told, pity 
and sympathy were felt for him, but there was none to give him 
what he wanted — employment. 

"Is it not pertinent to inquire, through your Journal, what is 
to be done with such a man ? If he remains unemployed, he must 
beg, or steal, or starve. He will not beg while he has a muscle 
to use, honestly or knavishly. It is bad economy (to say the 
least) to have such a man relapse into the criminal course, and 
put society to the expense of re-capturing, re-convicting and re- 
employing him, and gain nothing after all but a new edition of an 
old culprit. Why not at once make suitable provision for dis- 
charged convicts ? — not to turn them into lecturers on the approved 
modes of perpetrating felonies, nor to parade them as objects of 

♦Massachusetts and some other States in this country and in Europe have taken this view of 
ihe matter, and have made hy law some slight provision for the employment and aid of con- 
victs for a period subsequent to their discharge. 



32 [Assembly 

morbid sympathy, nor to put them on the same footing with men 
who have breasted the waves of temptation and adversity, and 
remained honest and true. All this would be as inconsistent 
with good sense as with true humanity. 

"All that is asked is, that such an one should be met with a 
friendly look as he leaves the door of his prison — a degraded, but 
perhaps, a penitent man — that his physical wants may be sup- 
plied — that those exigencies of his nature which goaded him to 
crime, may be provided for temporarily — that his professed wil- 
lingness to work for an honest living may be tested by an op- 
portunity — and that so much confidence may be extended to him 
as will prove his fidelity, without unreasonable hazard to the in- 
terests of others. These are not exorbitant claims, especially 
when it is considered that the community is a party interested. 
The reformation of a convict and his restoration to a reputable 
social standing, work indeed a great change for him, but is it a 
little one for us ? 

" The discharged convict, unreformed, is a terrible enemy to the 
community. In one important sense he is the stronger party. 
True indeed it is, that when he is begging the means of getting a 
meal, or a night's lodging, at our hands, we feel our strength — 
but when he goes abroad at midnight, with a match-box, he can 
arouse the whole city from its slumbers — -and call the inhabitants 
to read by a terrific light, the folly of leaving the discharged 
convict to himself!" 

The committee during their examinations were called upon to 
witness the practical workings of the law providing the discharged 
convict with a suit of clothes and a sufficient sum of money to 
enable him to reach his former place of residence. They saw 
smart, intelligent men sent from the prison, after a faithful ser- 
vice of their sentences, clad in a suit of garments shabby and 
ridiculous in the extreme, and with the paltry sum of four or 
five dollars upon which to subsist until some other means should 
be found. The clothes, including hat, boots and everything 
furnished to each man must not, by law, exceed in value the sum 
often dollars, and are procured by the agent, generally, of deal- 
ers in " second hand clothing." The clothing which the convict 



No. 20.] 33 

brings to the prison with him, often of five times the value of that 
furnished him on his discharge, is put into common stock and is 
of no avail to the original owner. 

Overlooking the injustice of thus treating a man who has per- 
haps earned for the State many hundreds of dollars over and 
above the cost of his support while in prison, it is as impolitic as 
it is unjust to degrade a man in his own eyes and in the estima- 
tion of the world, at a time too when he needs all the aids of an 
opposite tendency. We submit that the law and the practice 
under it is disreputable to the State and demands immediate 
amendment. Indeed, it is clear that the State should go further. 
Its interest in the poor prisoner ought not to cease when he 
leaves the gates of the prison. Humanity, Christianity, and 
interest, all point another way. 

It should be made the duty of some one of the officers of each 
prison (the warden, chaplain or clerk) to become acquainted 
with the disposition, designs, and capacity of each convict previ- 
ous to his discharge, find employment for him and see that he 
goes immediately and safely to his place of employment. Or, 
what perhaps would be better, an agent, outside of the prison 
•but in its vicinity, should be employed to attend to this duty — 
one who would exercise a paternal supervision over discharged 
convicts and take an interest in their future welfare. This plan 
has been adopted in other States and has been followed in our 
own by the voluntary efforts of a benevolent society. In both 
cases it has been attended with the most encouraging results. 
So important a duty however ought not to be left to individuals 
or to societies, but should become a part of our criminal code. 

Should a portion only of the surplus proceeds of prison labor 
be distributed to discharged convicts, how many who now leave 
the prison with good intentions, and are driven by destitution 
back into crime, might be rescued ! What situation indeed can 
be more discouraging and forlorn than that of the convict dis- 
charged, with no character but infamy, and no means but his 
hands, with his physical and mental energies paralysed by long 
confinement 1 Add to this the idea which he imbibes that the 
State instead of chastising to reform, is only the stern taskmaster 

[Assembly No 20. | 3 



34 [Assembly 

caring nothing for him, only for the money it can make from his 
labor, how can we wonder that his heart is often hardened to 
vindictiveness and steeled to revenge 1 



OVER-STENT. 

It will be seen from the testimony submitted, that the commit- 
tee have made inquiries into what, in prison language is known< 
as a Over-stent," or work done by prisoners beyond their allotted 
tasks. In Auburn, by a recent regulation it is entirely prohib- 
ited, but in Sing Sing it is tacitly permitted, but not regulated. 
The subject is one which has long occupied the attention of per- 
sons engaged in prison discipline, and has received the careful 
consideration of the committee. 

The question is, whether the prisoners shall be allowed to work 
for the contractors beyond the allotted daily task, and receive 
pay for it? 

On one side it is urged that prisoners are-, many of them, im- 
provident men, who would on their discharge, avail themselves 
of any accumulation produced during their confinement, to enter 
at once upon a career of profligacy, and like many sailors on the 
return from a long voyage, having the means, would at once 
plunge into the indigencies from which they had long been 
withheld. 

On the other hand it is said, that as at least T \ of the dischar- 
ged convicts lead honest lives afterwards, much the greater num- 
ber would make a provident use of such accumulations, and to 
them they would be of incalculable value. 

The amount now given to the prisoners on their discharge, as- 
before remarked, is very small, barely enough to remove them 
to a distance from the prisons, but not enough to start them in 
any business, or aid them in entering upon an honest calling. 
Hence many of them soon become very destitute, and the weaker 
among them are driven, from necessity, baek into a career of vice. 

The records of the Prison Association show large numbers, wha 
have been aided by its funds under such circumstances, and who 



No. 20.] 35 

encouraged by that aid, have been able to become useful mem- 
bers of society. The number, who may thus be redeemed is 
much larger, than the uninformed are at all aware of, and might 
become still greater, if our prisons could only be used as schools 
of reform, rather than as infernal regions, on whose portal is in- 
scribed the awful injunction to " Leave all hope behind." 

This is the class which would be benefited in an eminent de- 
gree, by a well regulated system of over-stent, and the committee 
see no sufficient reason for denying it them, in an apprehension 
that the evil disposed might abuse it. 

Again it is urged against the measure, that it is a part of the 
punishment of the condemned criminal, that he shall labor with- 
out remuneration, and that he ought not to be relieved from that, 
any more, than from any other portion of the consequences of his 
crime. But this view regards punishment only in its vindictive, 
and not in its reformatory character. 

Aside from the great question, whether man has ever a right 
to take vengeance upon his fellow man, it is worthy of consider- 
ation, that the chief object of punishment under our criminal 
code is so to deal with the convict, that he may be safely trusted 
abroad again in the community, and a measure which encour- 
ages him while in confinement to learn the lesson of industry, 
and on his discharge, confers on him some of the benefits of it, 
cannot but be beneficial. 

He will thus be encouraged to reform while in prison, and con- 
tinue his efforts after his discharge, and he will have a far better 
prospect of becoming a useful member of society. 

These considerations induce the committee to recommend the 
adoption of the measure, and that the financial officers of the 
prisons be directed, to receive and keep for the convict and pay 
to him on his discharge, whatever under a properly organized 
system of overstent may be due to him. The committee say 
" properly organized," for it is evident that great wisdom and 
judgment will be necessary to prevent an abuse of the system. 
It will be seen by the testimony on this point that the more ex- 



36 [A 



SSEMBLY 



pert prisoners complete their daily tasks by one or two o'clock, 
P. M., and after this are idle during the day. Care must be 
taken not to stimulate the convicts to immoderate or excessive 
labor or to create jealousies and heart-burnings among them. 
The advantages of constant occupation over temporary idleness 
ought also to be considered and the tasks allotted accordingly 
with a careful eye to the rights of the contractor and the State, 
as well as the welfare of the prisoner. 

These suggestions in regard to " over-stint" are based upon the 
supposition that the present system of " tasks" or " stints" is to 
be continued, of the propriety of which some diversity of opin- 
ion exists among the committee. 

TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. 

In the main, the benevolent spirit of our law's on this topic 
has been carried out and has operated beneficially. All agree 
in saying that the prisoners are better, more contented and cheer- 
ful under the present humane system than under that harsh one 
of mere force which formerly prevailed. Some aberrations will 
be noticed, but they do not require legislation. A proper reme- 
dy will be found for them in a proper inspection. 

In some respects, however, the discipline may be improved, 
much to the moral advancement of the prisoners. Foremost 
among these is the practice still prevailing — an unhonored relic 
of the past — which allows the officer who complains of a con- 
vict's misconduct, to be the judge in the case and the execu- 
tioner of the judgment. 

It would be asking oi human nature more than it could, in all 
cases, respond to, to require strict justice at the hands of the 
keeper where in the same breath he is the complainant and the 
sole judge of the validity of his complaint, or to expect that the 
subject of such a mode of administering justice should at once 
admit or feel that it had been impartially dealt out to him. Such 
a practice would never be tolerated for a moment outside the 
prison walls, and no excuse but the convenience of the officers, 
can be found for its existence within them. And it is quite evi- 



No. 20.] 37 

dent to the committee that in some cases the officers have admin- 
istered punishment under the influence of the excitement pro- 
duced by fancied or real resistance to their authority. This never 
can be without exciting in the prisoner's mind corresponding 
emotions of anger or revenge. The offender may for the moment 
be brought into subjection, but his reformation and self-control 
must be retarded and not advanced by it. 

The practice ought to be adopted and rigidly adhered to, that 
the person who makes the complaint should never adjudge the 
offence to administer the punishment, but that those things should 
be done by the warden or some officer under his direction who 
shall be fully removed from all suspicion of being affected by 
the ill-feeling which has sprung up between the offending and 
the offended parties. 

The committee regret to perceive that the humane intentions 
of the Legislature in respect to the mental culture of the prison- 
ers, have not been carried out as fully as they might have been. 
The opportunity which it was intended they should have, cannot 
be enjoyed when the prisoners are so situated that they cannot 
have light enough to read by. The subject has been frequently 
called to the attention of the proper officers, but nothing has 
been done to remedy the evils which existed in this respect, 
more than four years ago, when this policy was adopted and pro- 
mulgated by the law of 1847. The committee can discover no 
adequate excuse for this disregard of the plain and explicit in- 
tention of the Legislature, but they are compelled to look upon 
it as evincing an indifference to the moral welfare of the prison- 
ers in no respect consonant with the wish of the Legislature or 
the spirit of the law which they enacted. 

The committee also regret that they are unable to speak more 
favorably of the prison libraries. The sum of $100 is appropri- 
ated annually to each prison, to be expended in books for the use 
of the convicts, and it is one of the wisest and most beneficent 
appropriations that the Legislature is called upon to make. The 
useful knowledge, the elevating influences, and the many en- 
couragements to a virtuous life that may be drawn from a well 
selected, though meagre library, can hardly be estimated. With 



38 [Assembly 

an abundance of time and an insatiable desire for reading among 
prisoners, this might be made a most effective means of reforma- 
tion. But a most unpardonable negligence upon this point is 
manifest upon a slight examination of the catalogues of the sev- 
eral libraries. It seems more probable that some artful book- 
seller had availed himself of an opportunity to dispose of some 
ot his unsaleable stock, than that a pains-taking and careful se- 
lection of useful and interesting books had been made. A few- 
years ago, serious complaints were made that works of fiction 
were allowed in the prison libraries, and now the other extreme 
seems to have been followed, and we have in their places dry 
and dismal treatises on some abstruse points of theology. The 
result of this is that a large portion of the prison library is un- 
used, and the convicts are secretly supplied with books by the 
contractors, as rewards for diligence and over work. The Legis- 
lature have, within a few years past, taken large strides in im- 
proving our penitentiary system — in imparting to it a moral 
rather than a physical character, and infusing into it a wise and 
humane, instead of the former vindictive spirit. Much good 
has already resulted, and more will ensue if that policy can be 
adhered to, for the future and be faithfully executed. 

It ought ever to be borne in mind that as no human tribunal 
can be unerring, some among the prisoners may be innocent of 
the crimes for which they are suffering : that others, though ac- 
tually guilty, may have become so from sudden impulse, at the 
moment irresistable, but have repented with a lowly and a con- 
trite heart, long even before their conviction, and now bear their 
punishment with quiet resignation as some atonement for the 
wrong they have done : that some have erred from the force of 
the circumstances which surrounded them from their position in 
life, which has from their infancy enveloped them in moral and 
intellectual ignorance and left them to grope through the dark- 
ness of life without those aids which give light to the more for- 
tunate among us, and who only require proper instruction yet to 
go in the right way ; that comparatively few have erred from de- 
liberate intention, and that even in the most hardened of them, 
some green spot may be found which can be cultivated and bring 
forth good fruit. 



No. 20.] 39 

These things remembered — and they will readily become ap- 
parent to any one who will take the trouble to inquire with care 
and judgment — the propriety of so conducting our penitentiaries 
as to foster into life every aspiration for virtue will be self evi- 
dent. It is in the spirit of remembering these things that it has 
been determined that our prisons shall be governed. And every 
act which crosses so wise and humane a purpose cannot be too 
closely examined or too thoroughly reformed and corrected. 

And why should the State neglect these things. The most en- 
couraging success has attended even a partial fulfilment of the 
wise and benevolent intentions of the Legislature as expressed in 
the laws of the past few years. A great deal is said at the present 
time of the increase of crime, and it is sometimes adduced as a 
reason for maintaining the severity of punishments. Whether 
the increase is real or apparent, or what are its causes, few stop 
to inquire. Let us glance at a few facts. 

The number of convicts in the three prisons at the present 
time, is 1662. The number confined in the two prisons, Auburn 
and Sing Sing, in 1831 ; before the erection of the Clinton prison, 
was 1626. 

Many persons will be surprised to find that so slight an increase 
in our convict population has been made in twenty years. And 
when we compare the whole population of the State in 1830, 
with that of 1850, this fact is still more striking. 

It is evident that the great amelioration in the treatment of 
criminals which has been going on within the last half century, 
has had no tendency to increase the number of tenants of our 
State prisons. 

In 1848 the Inspectors reported that there were in all the 
prisons, 1309 convicts, being a decrease^ compared with the pre- 
vious year, of 115, and remark that whether this reduction be 
attributed to an improved morality in the State or other causes, 
unless it be an increased laxness in the administration of justice, 
— it is a matter of gratulation." Probably the Mexican war, 
which had then drained us of a portion of our population had 



40 [Assembly 

something to do with the remarkable decrease, and its termina- 
tion and reflux has been equally perceptible in the sudden in- 
crease since that time. 

Be that as it may, it is evident that no argument can be found 
in favor of returning to severe and sanguinary punishments in 
the increase of our prison population. 

LENGTH OF SENTENCES. 

In the course of the investigation, the committee were struck 
with the numerous cases of mental alienation among the convicts. 
A much larger number of the inmates of our prisons are more or 
less insane than the public imagine, or than the officers of the 
prisons themselves seem to be fully aware. Indeed, it is a matter 
of doubt whether any person comes out of prison, after serving 
out a sentence of six or more years, with a tolerable sound mind. 

It is deeply to be regretted that so little attention is paid to a 
subject, so important and so interesting, by the physicians of our 
prisons. There is great need of more copious and satisfactory 
statistics in their annual reports in regard to this matter. 

The Inspectors, in their last annual report, allude to the sub- 
ject of long sentences in the following terms ; 

" The object of State prison confinement being not only to pun- 
ish offences already committed, but to secure society against fu- 
ture violations of law, by improving the minds and reforming the 
characters of those who find their way here, it becomes a subject 
of enquiry whether these desirable ends cannot better be accom- 
plished by a snorter term of sentence oil first convictions, without 
detriment to the administration of public justice. 

Conducted as our prisons necessarily must be upon the congre- 
gated system of employment, it will readily be supposed that evil 
communications exist among the inmates, by which the young 
and inexperienced are initiated into the knowledge of other crimes, 
and made familiar with the means of perpetrating offences of every 
description. 



No. 20. | 41 

The longer the sentence the more thoroughly the young con- 
vict acquires this description of knowledge, and it is but reasona- 
ble to suppose that protracted incarceration destroys the better 
faculties of the soul, renders the man more indifferent to future 
consequences, and hopelessly unfits him for that moral effort which 
can alone restore him to society. To this cause may be attributed 
much of the difficulty and discouragement which our prison teach- 
ers have to contend with. 

The convict who has served a five years' term before arriving 
at thirty years of age, is prematurely old in body and mind. The 
destruction of health is invariably attended with a corresponding 
failure of mental energy, removing the subject still further from 
the influence of all that is commendable, and rendering him the 
easy victim of those who are more conversant in the paths of 
guilt. As a general rule, the younger class, who are convicted 
of larceny, burglary, and other offences sgainst property, are the 
dupes of older and more experienced rogues. To reform this 
class is of the utmost importance to society, yet under the present 
system of sentences and imprisonment, it cannot be denied that 
too many of them, who enter the prison with deep humiliation in 
view of their first offence, leave it prepared to engage in any da- 
ring and lawless enterprise. 

That the service of a single term in the State prison has the ef- 
fect to correct the habits and reform the conduct of many, is shown 
by the limited number of second convictions compared with that 
of all received. At Sing Sing the recommitments average but 1 
in 7i, of the whole number, and but 1 in 1H of those received 
during the year. At Auburn the commitments average 1 to 6|, 
and 1 in 7 of those received during the year. At Clinton they 
average 1 in 9, and of the female convicts, 1 in 12. 

A very large number, therefore, who are discharged from their 
first term, never return to prison, and it is but fair to conclude, 
that the necessary privations and sufferings attending their in- 
carceration, coupled with the mental instruction and reforming 
influences provided by the beneficence of the State, have deterred 
them from further indulgence in their evil courses, and restored 
them to a better condition of life." 



42 [Assembly 

Your committee deem these suggestions of the highest impor- 
tance, and so firmly convinced are they that the present terms of 
sentence are excessive, prejudicial alike to the interests of society 
and the good of the convict, that they feel it their duty to pre- 
sent some statistics on the subject, to which they invite the care- 
ful attention of the Legislature. 

During the years 1846, 1847, 1848, and 1850, one thousand 
four hundred and ninety-four persons were sentenced to confine- 
ment in our State prisons. Of these, eleven were sentenced for 
life. Three hundred and ninety-four for periods of five years 
and over, and eleven hundred for periods under five years. It is 
not our purpose to enquire into the propriety of sentences for life. 
It must be conceded that there are some persons, who, by orga- 
nic structure or moral obliquity, are incapable of enjoying their 
freedom without conflicting with the public welfare, or even 
their own. For the purpose of argument, we admit that these 
eleven persons were of that class. It remains to enquire whether 
the public weal demands the imprisonent of the three hundred 
and ninety-four persons for periods of five years and upwards. 
Liberty is acknowledged amongst us as an inalienable right, 
which cannot be invaded without the safety of the community or 
the welfare of the individual demands the sacrifice. Unless we 
can show that one of these objects justifies these long terms of 
imprisonment, justice and reason alike conspire to demand a 
revision of legislation on this subject ; and if we can show that, 
in addition, the health of the bodies and the minds of convicts 
are irremediably injured, the voice of humanity must join in the 
chorus of pleadings with those of justice and policy, to effect their 
abrogation* In order to learn whether an increase in the length 
of sentences tends to suppress the commission of crime, let us 
carefully study the following table, (marked A,) in which the 
number of sentences to the State prisons for each term are given 
for each of the eight judicial districts of the State of New- York, 
during the years 1846, '47, '48, and '50. 



No. 20.] 



43 



TABLE A. 





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o 

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1 
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CO 


1 
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32 


e 

c3 
4) 

h> 
45 


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3 


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11 


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31 


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3 


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1 


tQ j CO 

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3 


1 


1st District^ .... 


1 


151 


62 


346 


2d District, , 




90 


30 


19 


32 


1 


8: 3 .. 


16 .. 


2 


2 


2 




..! 2 


3 


210 


3d District, 




93 


30 


12 


23 


1 


4 1 




15 .. 










1 


3 


182 


4th District, .... 




59 


31 


14 


n 


2 


4 .. 




5 










.. 


, . . 




126 




1 


70 

29 


38 
16 


14 
8 


17 
11 


1 
4 


1 


1 




9 

6 


•• 


2 




1 




1 


1 
2 


155 


6th District, 




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77 


7th District , 


i 


76 
106 


31 
43 


18 


14 
41 


1 

4 


5 
3 


1 
1 


2 
2 


4 
14 




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l 








i 




153 


8th District, .... 


1 


1 




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2 


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3 


674 


281 


142 


194 


17 


36 


8 


4 


100 


1 


8 


3 


7 


1 


2 ! 2 


11 


1494 



44 



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No. 20.] 45 

The following table, marked C, shews the aggregate of the sen- 
tences in each district, and the average length of sentences, and 
enables us to judge of the severity practiced in each district, es- 
pecially when studied in connection with table B. It embraces 
the same periods as tables A and B. 

TABLE C. 

No. of Aggregate of Average of 
convictions, sentences. sentences. 



1st district,. , 
2nd district,, 
3rd district, 
4th district,, 
5th district, 
6th district, , 
7th district, , 
8th district, , 

Average, . , 





Years. 


Years. 


346 


1447 


4 18 


210 


876 


4.17 


182 


631 


3.44 


126 


412 


3.27 


155 


538 


3.47 


77 


285 


3.69 


153 


506 


3.31 


245 


899 


3.67 


186.7 


699.2 


3.65 



The following table marked D. shows the ratio of convictions 
mentioned in table C, to the population of the several districts, 
the population being taken from the State census of 1845. 

TABLE D. 



1st district,. 
2nd district, . 
3rd district,. 
4th district,. 
5th district,. 
6th district, . 
7th district, . 
8th district, . 



Population. 


Eatio of 

convictions 
to population. 


Convictions. 


Rank of dis- 
trict in crime. 


One in 






371.223 


1074 


346 


1st 


340.720 


1621 


210 


3rd 


313.161 


1720 


182 


4th 


301.099 


2389 


126 


7th 


326.033 


2103 


155 


5th 


303.588 


3942 


77 


8th 


338.818 


2149 


153 


6th 


306.685 


1251 


245 


2nd 



Rank of 

district in 

severity of 

punishment. 



1st 

2nd 

6th 

8th 

5th 

3rd 

7th 

4th 



46 [Assembly 

If long sentences were consistent with sound policy ; if they 
were necessary for the security of society ; if they operated to 
repress crime by causing a salutary dread of justice in the minds 
of offenders we cannot fail to discern clear traces of their influ- 
ence in the wide tract of time and space which is covered by 
these tables. We could not fail to discover on examining the facts 
here tabulated, to find that the districts where crimes were most 
severely punished, were most free from the depredations of the 
forger, the burglar, and the thief. A careful examination of the 
tables shows nothing of the kind, whether we consult the actual 
number of convictions, the centesimal proportions, or the ratio 
of convictions to the population we find no grounds to justify 
the theory of long sentences ; the language of experience is most 
clearly and unmistakably in opposition to it. 

Look, for example, at the city and county of New-York, which 
forms the first judicial district. It stands at the head of all the 
districts for the severity of its punishments, and hence if there 
were any virtue in long sentences it ought to stand in the 8th or 
lowest rank, in the number of crimes committed within its juris- 
diction, but the fact is, that it also stands in the highest rank for 
crime, that is, more crimes are committed (1 in 1074) and pun- 
ished there, in proportion to its population, than any other dis- 
trict in the State. The second district stands next in the severity 
of its punishments, and hence if the theory were true, it should 
stand in the seventh rank of crime, or it should have less than 
any other except one ; the tables show that it stands in 3rd rank, 
that is, it has more crime than any of the districts except two, 
(the 1st and 8th districts.) The third in rank for severe punish- 
ments, is the sixth judicial district, which stands in the 8th rank 
for crime, that is it has less crime in proportion to its population 
than any other district in the State, and though it is very far 
from satisfying the demands of the theory in question, yet it 
affords it more support than any other district, but if we turn 
our eyes to the fourth judicial district, we find that the tables 
are completely turned, it stands in the 8th rank for the severity of 
its sentences, being the most' lenient of any in the State while it 
stands in 7th rank for crime (1 in 2389) being only exceeded by 
the sixth judicial district in the fewness of the crimes committed 



No. 20.] 47 

within it. We have examined these tables in every possible form 
of comparison, and we invite every one to exercise the same scru- 
tiny, in the undoubting certainty that all who thus examine them 
will unite with us in the conviction of the utter uselessness of 
long sentences, either for the security of the society, or for a ter- 
ror to evil doers. 

The foregoing tables apply to crimes of every grade ; and hav- 
ing ascertained the uselessness of long sentences in general, let 
us turn our attention to their effect on particular crimes. We 
have selected for examination three which are most numerous 
throughout the State, and have been so for the last 20 years, viz. 
grand larceny, burglary, and forgery. 

The following table, marked E, gives the number of grand lar- 
cenies that have been committed in each district, and the number 
of sentences for each term during the years 1846, 1847, 1848, 
and 1850 : 











TABLE E. 












Judicial 

Districts. 

1st dist., 


2 
yrs. 

63 


3 

yrs. 

22 


4 

yrs. 

17 




yrs. 
17 


6 

yrs. 


7 
yrs. 

2 


8 

yrs. 

1 


12 

yrs. 


14 

yrs. 


15 

yrs. 


21 
yrs. Total. 

.. 122 


2d " 


39 


7 


6 


7 








1 


1 


2 


1 64 


3d « 


35 


10 


4 


6 


% m 


m m 


1 








.. 56 


4th « 


27 


14 


3 
















.. 44 


5th " 


23 


19 


4 


1 








1 






.. 48 


6th " 


15 


3 


o 


2 


1 












.. 23 


7th « 


24 


15 


9 


2 


. . 


• • 


1 








.. 51 


8th " 


38 


17 


12 


10 


•• 


.. 


2 








.. 79 



264 107 57| 45 1 2 5 2 1 2 1 487 

Table F shows the centesimal proportion of sentences for each 
term of years in each of the eight judicial districts, for grand 
larceny. 



48 



[Assembly 





TABI 


,EF. 










Judicial 

Districts. 

1st dist. 


2 3 4 5 6 
yrs. yrs. yrs. yrs. [yrs. 

,51.6 18.0 14.0 14.0 ... 


7 8 12 
yrs. yrs. yrs. 

1.7 0.8 ... 


14 
yrs. 


15 

yrs. 


21 
yrs. 


Total. 
122 


2d « 


60.9 10.9 9.4 10.9 ... 


1.5 


1.5 


3.0 


1.5 


64 


3d « 


62.5 17.8 7.1 10.7 ... 


... 1.8 ... 








56 


4th " 


67.3 31.4 7.0 9.0 ... 










44 


5th « 


47.9 39.6 8.3 2.0 ... 


2.0 


... 


... 




48 


6th " 


65.2 13 8.7 8.7 4.4 


... ... ... 


. . . 


. . . 




23 


7th " 


47.0 29.4 17.6 3.8 ... 


... 2.0 ... 


. • . 


. . . 




51 


8th « 


48.1 21.5 15.1 12.6 ... 


... 2.5 ... 


... 


... 




79 




54.2 21.9 11.7 9.2 0.2 


0.4 1.0 0.4 


0.2 


0.4 


0.2 


487 



Table G shows the number of convictions for grand larceny, 
the aggregate number of years for which the prisoners were sen- 
tenced, the average length of sentences, the rank of the district 
for the crime of grand larceny, its rank for severity of punish- 
ment, and the proportion of persons committing grand larceny 
to the whole population. 

TABLE G. 



Judicial No. of 

Districts. Convic- 
tions. 



1st dist., 

2d " 

3d " 

4th « 

5th " 

6th " 

7th " 

8th « 



122 
64 
56 
44 
48 
23 
51 
79 



Aggregate 
of senten- 



Years. 
367 

158 

154 

108 

124 

63 

147 

231 



Average 
of sen- 
tences. 

Years. 
3.01 

2 06 
2.76 
2 46 
2.64 

2.74 
2.88 
2.92 



Kates of Grand Rank of Rank of district 
Larceny to po- district in in severity of 
pulation, is 1 in crime. punishment. 



3288 
5324 
5592 
6843 
6792 
13199 
6631 
3882 



1st 

3d 
4th 

7th 
6th 
8th 
5th 
2d 



1st 

8th 

4th 

7th 

6th 

5th 

3d 

2d 



The results of these tables showing the amount and punish- 
ment of grand larceny in the several judical districts of this State, 
correspond very nearly in their details and perfectly in their 



No. 20.] 49 

general results with those giving the results of every class of 
crime and its punishment. Like them they contraindieate the 
doctrine that severe punishments tend to deter men from the 
commission of crime, like them they show that more grand lar- 
cenies are committed in the first judicial district than in any 
other, and that in that district, the sentences are more severe 
than in any other. The judicial district which stands next to the 
first in the rates of grand larcenies to population is the 8th, and 
that also stands next to the first in the severity of its punish- 
ments. It is useless to pursue the subject farther, an inspec- 
tion of the two last columns of table G, showing the ranks of the 
several districts with respect to crime and punishment will show 
that the doctrine of severity receives no countenance from expe- 
rience. 



TABLE H 

Shows the sentences for burglary and larceny in all the judi- 
cial districts of this State for the years 1846, 47, 48 and 50. 

Judicial Two Three Four Five Six Seven Nine Ten 

Listricts. Years. Years. Years. Years. Years. Years. Years. Years. Total. 

1st district, 17 9 4 3 1 .. ..6 40 

2nd do 11 4 7 7 1 .... 3 33 

3rd do 13 7 .. 7 ...... 1 28 

4th do 8 3 4 1 16 

5th do 10 6 2 3 1 22 

6th do 6 3 2 2 13 

7th do 11 4 3 3 .. 1 1 .. 23 

8th do 12 7 5 11 3 .... 1 39 

88 43 23 40 5 1 1 13 214 



[Assembly, No. 20.] 



50 



[ASSEMBLT 



TABLE I 

Shows the centesimal proportion for each class of sentences for 
burglary and larceny. 



Judicial 
Districts. 

1st district. 


2 

years. 

42.5 


3 

years. 

22.5 


4 
years. 

10. 


5 

years. 

7.5 


6 

years. 

2.5 


7 
years. 


9 

years 


10 
years. Total. 

15. 40 


2nd 


do 


33.3 


12.1 


21.2 


21.2 


3.0 




• . * 


9. 33 


3rd 


do 


46.7 


25. 


• • • • 


25. 


... 




, , . 


3.5 28 


4th 


do 


50. 


18.7 


.... 


25. 






• • • 


6.2 16 


5th 


do 


43.5 


26.1 


8.7 


13.4 


. . . 




. . ■ 


4.3 23 


6th 


do 


46.1 


22 


15.3 


15.3 






» • • 


.... 13 


7th 


do 


48 


17.4 


13. 


13. 


. . . 


4.4 


4.4 


.... 23 


8th 


do 


30.7 


18. 


12.7 


28.2 


7.7 






2.5 39 






41.1 


20.1 


10.7 


18.7 


£.3 


0.4 


0.4 


6.1 214 










TABLE J 











Shows the aggregate years of sentences, the average years of 
sentences, the rank of districts in crime and in severity of sentence. 



Judicial 
Districts. 

1st district, 


Number 
of con- 
victions. 

40 


Aggregate 

of 
sentences. 

Years. 

168 


Average 

of 

sentences. 

Years. 

3.95 


Patio of convic- 
tions of burglary 

and larceny to 
population, 1 in 

9280 


Rank of 
district 
in crime 

2nd 


Bank of 

district in 

severity of 

sentence. 

2nd 


2nd do 


33 


133 


4.00 


10325 


3rd 


1st 


3rd do 


28 


70 


2.50 


11183 


4th 


8th 


4th do 


16 


55 


3.43 


18812 


7 th 


4th 


5th do 


23 


71 


3.08 


14175 


5th 


6th 


6th do 


13 


39 


3.00 


23353 


8th 


7th 


7th do 


23 


77 


3.35 


14470 


6 th 


5th 


8th do 


39 


148 


3.79 


7863 


1st 


3rd 



These tables lead to the same results as the preceding, though 
not in quite so marked a degree. The punishment of burglary and 
larceny is most severe in the 2nd judicial district, and if the 
theory of severity were true there ought to be fewer burglaries 
and larcenies than any other district, but in fact there are more 
than any other, except two. The 1st judicial district stands next 



Wo. 20.] 



51 



in rank for the severity of its punishments and therefore it ought 
to have fewer crimes than any other district, except one ; in fact 
it has more crimes than any other district except one. 



TABLE K 

'Shows the number of convictions in each judicial district for 
forgery, with the sentences for each term. 



Judicial 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


10 




Districts. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


Total 


1st Dist. . 


8 


1 


o- o 


11 


2 


5 


o • 


1 


28 


2d D'ist. 


3 


1 


o • 


_. . 


• • 


1 


o • 


■••■• 


5 


:3d Dist.. 


2 


1 


• O 


3 


-o • 


■B • 


• o 


• e 


6 


4th Dist. 


4 


1 


■O-Q 


2 










7 


£th Dist. 


13 


3 


1 


8 


a . e 


o e 


•e-o 


• ■•« 


25 


6th Dist. 


3 


.« • 


• o 


3 


1 


1 


•« « 


• • 


8 


7th Dist. 


6 


. . 


. , 


1 


1 








8 


Bth Dist. 


3 




.,. 


.7 


... 


... 


1 


« • 


11 




42 


7 


1 


35 


4 


7 


1 


1 


98 








TABLE L 











Shows the centesimal proportion of each term of imprisonment 
in each judicial district for the crime of forgery. 



Judicial 


2 3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


10 




Districts. 


years, years. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


years. 


TotaL 


1st Dist.. 


28.5 3.5 


.... 


39.3 


7.0 


17 S 


...» 


3.5 


28 


H& Dist.. 


60. 20. 


. • . e 


. . .. 


.... 


20.7 


.... 


.... 


5 


3d Dist. 


33.3 16.6 


.... 


50. 


* « « . 


.... 


.... 


.... 


6 


4th Dist. 


17.5 14.2 


• . • • 


28.5 


.... 


« •<> . 


. •-• « 


.... 


7 


$th Dist. 


52. 12. 


..... 


32. 


.... 


.... 


.... 


.... 


25 


6th Dist. 


37.5 .... 


.... 


37.5 


12.5 


12.5 


.... 


. . • • 


8 


7th Dist. 


75 


e . . « 


12.5 


12,5 


.... 


.... 


.... 


8 


58th Dist. 


27.2 .... 





63.6 


4.2 





9.0 


.... 


11 




42.8 7.1 


1.0 


35.7 


7.1 


1.0 


1.0 


98 



52 
TABLE M 



[Assembly 



Shows the 


aggregate years of sentences 


for forgery, the 


average 


of sentence, 


the 


rank of each district in 


crime, and the 


rank of 


each district 


for ! 


severity 


of punis 


hment. 






Judicial 

Districts. 


o a 

o 

11 

Si 


00 

fee® 

< o 
years. 


» Average 
2 sentences. 


Kank of 
district for 
severity. 


Ratio of 
convictions 
of forgery 
to popula- 
tion, 1 in 


K-3 & 


1st Dist. : 


28 


131 


4.67 


1st 


13,268 


2d 


2d Dist.. 


5 


1G 


3.20 


5th 


68,144 


8 th 


§d Dist. . 


6 


22 


3.66 


4th 


52,193 


7 tb 


4th Dist. 


7 


21 


3.00 


7 th 


43,014 , 


5th 


5th Dist. 


25 


79 


3.16 


6th 


13,041 


1st 


6th Dist. 


8 


34 


4.25 


3d 


37,948 


4th 


7th Dist. 


8. 


23 


2.87 


8th 


44,352 


6th 


8th Dist. 


11 


49 


4.45 


2d 


27,S80 


3d 



These tables showing the amount of forgery and its punish>= 
ment in each district, agree with the preceding ones in their re- 
sults; they show, like the others, that severe punishments secure- 
no immunity from guilt. Without one exception, the sentences 
are most severe in the first district, yet this district has more con- 
Fictions for forgery than any other with one exception. The 8th 
district stands next to the first in point of severity, yet with the 
exception of the first and fifth districts it has more crime than 
any other. We have compiled table N to show the rank of each 
district in each crime, at one view. 









TABLE N. 










Judicial 
Districts. 


All Crimes. 
Rank Rank 
in in 
severity, crime. 


Burglary and 
Grand Larceny. Larceny. 
Rank Rank Rank Rank 
in in in in 
severity, crime, severity, crime. 


Forgery. 
Rank Rank 
in in 
severity, crime. 


1st Dist. . 


1st 


1st 


1st 


1st 


2d 


2d 


1st 


2d 


2d Dist.. 


2d 


3d 


8th 


3d 


1st 


3d 


5th 


3d 


3d Dist.. 


6th 


4th 


4th 


4th 


8th 


4th 


4th 


4th 


4th Dist. 


8th 


7th 


7th 


7th 


4th 


7th 


7th 


7th 


5th Dist. 


5th 


5th 


6th 


6th 


6th 


5th 


6th 


5th 


6th Dist. 


3d 


8th 


5th 


8th 


7th 


8th 


3d 


8th 


7th Dist. 


7th 


6th 


3d 


5th 


5th 


6th 


8th 


6th 


8th Dist. 


4th 


2d 


2d 


2d 


3d 


1st 


2d 


1st 



No. 20.] 53 



TABLE 0, 

Showing the proportion of convicts to the entire population 
in following States : 

Ratio of crime to Average length Rankin Rank ia 
State. population. of conviction. crime, severity. 

Y. M. D. 

New-York,..., , 1 in 1608 5,3.4 2nd 4th 

Massachusetts, 1 in "2232 4.7,28 5th 6th 

Connecticut,. 1 in 1700 6.8.4 3rd 2nd 

Maine, 1 in 5374 4,6.22 8th 7th 

New-Hampshire, 1 in 4376 6,4.15 7th 3rd 

Virginia, 1 in 6856 7,7.2 9th 1st 

Kentucky,, „ 1 in 7238 5.0.0 10th 5th 

Maryland, 1 in 1336 4,0,3 1st 8th 

Pennsylvania, 1 in 4022 3.7.2 6th 9th 

New-Jersey,.... 1 in 2010 3,8.25 4th 10th 

The above table shows that crime is more severely punished in 
Virginia than in any of the States enumerated, but it stands in 
the ninth rank of crime, that is, it has less crime than any other 
except one, and so far severity seems to deter from crime ; but 
this notion is contradicted by the example of Connecticut, which 
stands in the second rank for severity while it stands in the third 
rank for crime, that is, there is more crime in proportion to its 
populai on than any State except tw T o. New-York stands in the 
fourth rank for severity, but it stands in the second rank for 
crime, that is, there is more crime in proportion to its population 
than any State except one. These examples fortify the conclu- 
sions drawn from a survey of the eight judicial districts in New- 
York, that long sentences do not deter from crime. 

As an illustration of the disastrous effect of imprisonment for 
long periods on human life, we subjoin the folio vring table, *P 3 
which gives the experience of Sing Sing prison for 30 years, from 
1817 to 1817. It gives the percentage of deaths for each feimof 
imprisonment, after deducting the number who were pardoned 
for each term. 



54 [A 



SSEMBL¥ 



TABLE P. 

Number of Term of Remaining in Per cent of 

convictions, conviction. Pardoned.- prison. Died. deaths- 

Years. 

8 10 8 00.00 
1627 2 341 1486 92 6.19* 
1848 & 305 1543 138 8.94 

490 4 117 373 49 13.13 

1315 5 281 1034 202 19.53 

118 6 49 68 20 32.38 

553 7 243 310 101 32.90 

69 8 22 47 21 44.68 

30 9 10 20 2 10.00 

462 10 17^ 389 94 24.16 

7 11 4 3 ...... 

40 12 15 25 7 28.00 

3 13 13 1 33.3a 

120 14 64 56 30 53.57 

27 15 8 19 7 36.84 

2 16 2 00 

2 17 17 00.00 

3 18 1 2 2 100. 00 
19 

9 20 5 4 1 25.00 
9 20 to 30 9 

3 over 30 3 2 66.66 

285 life. 177 108 88 81.48 

Of 7,030 convicted, 867, or 12.33 per cent, died ; 16.17, oi^23 
per cent were pardoned. Average length of sentences, 5 years, 
7 months, 8 days. It "will be seen that the mortality increases 
during each year of confinement in a rapidly increasing ratio un- 
til the eighth year, when those who are peculiarly susceptible to 
the morbid influences of prisons, seem to die off; the remainder, 
after this, die in a rapidly accelerated ratio. 

We think a careful examination of table N will dissipate every 
lingering doubt, that long sentences are utterly useless, since in 
those districts where the sentences are longest, crimes more pe- 



No. 20 J 55 

culiarly abound. We have shown that since liberty is an inalien- 
able right, the burthen of proof that its alienation or abridgment 
is necessary for the welfare or the security of society, is on those 
who seek to increase or to continue such alienation or abridg- 
ment, and since it cannot be shown from the criminal experience 
of the State that it is so, we are bound to try the effects of shorter 
terms of imprisonment. 

Having disposed of the effect of long sentences in affording to 
the community protection against crime, we are next to enquire 
into their effect on the criminal himself. 

The object of an enlightened criminal code is to provide secu- 
rity for the State, reformation of the offender and provision for 
his welfare after the term of imprisonment shall have expired. 



The reformation of the offender can only be effected by the en- 
lightenment and culture of his religious, moral and intellectual 
faculties, and by preserving and improving his physical powers. 



An inspection of State prisons, will satisfy any one that these 
indications are not fulfilled by long sentences, most men who have 
been confined for long terms are distinguished by a stupor of both 
the moral and inteMectual faculties, they become mere machines ; 
long disused to the exercise of their own volitions, and subjected 
to an unvarying routine of occupations and of objects, the noblest 
powers of their natures fall into decay, while the mere instinc- 
tive and animal faculties are those which remain in exercise, 
even hope dies within them, and not unfrequently insanity in its 
most frightful forms completes the wreck of all their faculties. 
Reformation is then out of the question, and the power of provi- 
ding for their own livelihood is forever destroyed. Those who 
are most familiar with the history of criminals, know that pecu- 
niary necessities are the chief springs of crime. Even those who 
enter the path of criminality, through the portals of the grog shop, 
the brothel or the gambling-house, are constrained to adopt this 
course, because those agencies have deprived them of all other 
means of providing for their* wants. 

It cannot therefore be the true policy of any State, to deprive 



56 [Assembly 

their criminals of that mental and bodily health, which can alone 
enable them to secure a living without the commission of crime. 

We regret that we cannot demonstrate the influence of long 
sentences on the health of prisoners, by a convincing array oi sta- 
tistics, drawn from the records of our prison ; unfortunately, these 
have not been preserved with sufficient care to make them relia- 
ble. 

But the attention of Drs. Isaac Parrish, Given and Coates, has 
for a considerable time, been directed to the workings of long 
sentences in the Pennsylvania prisons, and from their labors, in 
connection with those of the Inspector of prisons in England, we 
could easily and clearly show 7 that all we have said of their evil 
influence is borne out by the undoubted teachings of experience. 

It is to be regretted that the modes of keeping the records of 
the majority of the prisons, are such as to be unavailable as au- 
thority, on the question of the influence of long terms of impris- 
onment on the health and sanity of prisoners ; but no one who is 
familiar with these institutions, can doubt that long imprison- 
ment in them tends to injure both the body and the mind, or that 
very few spend over five years in them without showing greater 
or lesser symptoms of imbecility of mind. # 

There is another topic of considerable importance to which 
your committee would briefly advert, and that is the condition 
of most of our county jails. An intelligent gentleman, a former 
member of Assembly, who has visited most of the county jails of 
our own State as well as many of the prisons and jails of other 
States, unhesitatingly affirms that no State in the Union has worse 
county jails than New-York. And your committee were pain- 
fully impressed with this fact in their examination of our State 
prisons ; for even a slight acquaintance with the convicts is suf- 
ficient to discover the evil effects of their imprisonment previous 
to conviction. Especially is this true as regards the younger 
prisoners, many of whom bore ample but mortifying testimony 
to the baneful influence exerted upon them during their confine- 
ment in the county jail. It is a disgracetul state of things when 
a large share of the reformatory measures used in our Stat© 



No. 20.] 57 

prisons are required to eradicate the evil habits and vices gene- 
rated in our houses of detention. 

By the act of 1817, the county jails were placed under the 
supervision of the Inspectors, but they have by a subsequent act, 
been excused from this duty, and at present no systematic in- 
spection is enforced. That the State is suffering greatly from the 
want of such an inspection is too evident. 

Much evil results from the bad ventilation of our prisons. 
Nothing is more certain than that the temper and disposition of 
men are affected by bad air. Men confined in an unventilated 
room, inhaling a foul atmosphere even for a short time, become 
cross, irascible and reckless of consequences. This is often seen 
in your Assembly chamber after the air has been corrupted by a 
session of several hours ; good bills are killed from mere spite, 
and exhibitions of ill-temper among members become frequent • 
and evening sessions are too often perfect bear gardens, chiefly 
from the impurity of the air collected during the day. It can 
be easily imagined how much more prisoners must suffer who 
breathe foul air year after year. The prisoners at Auburn suffer 
severely from this cause, while those at Sing Sing are favored by 
the breezes that sweep through the prison and the shops from 
the broad river that flows by them. 

Considerable improvement in this matter has been made re- 
cently at Sing Sing, in the erection of a new hospital and chapel. 
These rooms are high and tolerably ventilated. A similar build- 
ing has been commenced at Auburn. But the cells and shops 
at all the prisons are more or less deficient in ventilation and 
what, if possible, is still worse, many of the cells are excessively 
damp. The most ordinary promptings of humanity should have 
long since devised a remedy for this evil. 

The committee found a variety of rumors, affecting the charac- 
ter of some of the prison officers, in circulation in the vicinities 
of the Auburn and Sing Sing prisons. Wherever they could be 
traced to any responsible source, sufficient attention was given 
to them to ascertain the character of their foundation. 



58 [Assembly 

In a great majority of cases your committee believe these ru- 
mors and charges to be entirely baseless or gross exaggerations. 
In other cases, considerable evidence was adduced to show gross 
misconduct and manifest incompetency on the part oi certain 
officers. In an institution so extensive and complicated as a 
State prison, there is a constant danger and liability of malad- 
ministration, and the abuses are generally of such a character 
that they are not easily exposed. The only witnesses are often 
convicts, whose testimony is readily impeached or whose personal 
comfort or prospects of pardon depend entirely on the good will 
of the officer or keeper in fault. And the difficulty is still great- 
er of obtaining evidence of misconduct from associates or subor- 
dinates. Under these circumstances the committee do not feel 
called upon to decide as to the charges which have been made, 
and to some extent substantiated, but would submit the testimony 
they have taken in the several cases, and ask for it a careful 
examination. 

CLINTON PRISON. 

In regard to the Clinton Prison, its finances and its prospects, 
the committee hardly feel competent to decide upon the best plan 
to be pursued. If the prison is to be abandoned the sooner it is 
done the better. If it is to be continued in anticipation of its 
ultimately supporting itself, then must a large appropriation be 
made to extend its operations and the number of convicts be 
largely increased. 

Since the first establishment of this prison. $309,000 have been 
appropriated to its use from the State Treasury, while its earn- 
ings have scarcely exceeded one-tenth of that sum. Or in other 
words its average annual receipts from the Treasury have been 
$38,625, and from all other sources $4,350. The annual pay of 
its officers amounts to $15,000, or nearly four times its average 
earnings since its establishment. The number of officers and 
guards employed to take charge of the 112 convicts in the prison 
is 34 or nearly one officer to three prisoners, while at Auburn 
and Sing Sing only one officer to 20 prisoners is required. 



No. 20.] 59 

Of the 112 prisoners but 46 are engaged in mining. A very 
general impression prevails that the convicts are employed in 
making iron, while the fact is, not a pound of iron has ever been 
made at the prison. In order to go into the manufacture of iron 
nearly fifty thousand dollars must be expended in putting up 
furnaces and other necessary apparatus, and the number of con- 
victs in the prison doubled. In the blasting of iron two sets of 
men are required, one by day and one set through the night, and 
the difficulty of guarding convicts in the night time has been 
suggested as a serious obstacle to employing them at this business* 

It is the opinion, however, of the Inspector in charge, that the 
manufacture of iron at this prison can be successfully prosecu- 
ted, and it certainly seems to be the only alternative left. At 
present, the convicts engaged in mining scarcely earn enough to 
pay for the tools and other means used in getting out and separa- 
ting the ore ; and the Inspectors have repeatedly advertised to 
let the convicts on contracts at various mechanical pursuits, as 
at Auburn and Sing Sing, without receiving a bid. And it is 
alleged that the location of the prison at so great a distance from 
market will always be a serious impediment in the way of pro- 
fitably employing the prisoners upon contracts. Under these 
circumstances, and in view of the crowded state of the other 
prisons and the large sums of money already invested or expended 
at this prison, it may be advisable for the State to establish fur- 
naces and enter into the manufacture of iron in all its branches, 
It is probably well known that the mine or ore bed belonging to 
the State has been abandoned, and that the convicts are now at 
work in what is called the Averill Mine, which has been leased 
by the State at the rate of 75 cents per ton for all the ore that is 
extracted. It sells after it is separated for $3 a ton. 

Various opinions exist as to the value of the State mine, and 
before increasing the operations of the prisons, as suggested, per- 
haps a further and more thorough examination should be made 
of its quality and quantity. 

The capacity and arrangements of the prison appear to be am- 
ple for the proposed increase of business. A large and substan- 
tial stone building capable of locking up 500 prisoners has been 



60 [Assembly 

erected. Also a stone building for a machine shop, with a supe- 
rior steam engine of 40 horse power, constructed at the prison, a 
foundry, one large and one small saw mill. Within the enclo- 
sure there are also buildings for the residence of the agent and 
the physician, office, guard rooms, &c, besides a large stone build- 
ing which may be used for work shops or other purposes. The 
prison and other buildings are well supplied with water brought 
from a reservoir a short distance from the prison and conveyed 
through the buildings in iron pipes. There are on the premises 
five steam engines used in driving the saw mills and raising and 
separating the ore. The buildings and machinery generally ap- 
pear to be of a substantial and permanent character and reflect 
much credit upon those engaged in their construction. Fuel in 
almost inexhaustible quantities can be obtained from land belong- 
ing to the State in the immediate vicinity of the prison. The 
beds of ore of different qualities in the immediate neighborhood 
are also inexhaustible. During the past year the prison has been 
connected with lake Cham/plain at Plattsburgh by a substantial 
plank road, and after the present year steam communication be- 
tween Plattsburgh and New-York will exist the whole year. 

Without expressing any decided opinion as to the best plan to 
be adopted, and without further remark on the condition and 
prospects of this prison, the committee would ask especial atten- 
tion to the testimony taken at their examinations of the officers, 
and to the statements accompanying this report. The committee 
spent several days, immediately after the close of the extra ses- 
sion, in their investigations at this prison, with an anxious desire 
to learn what has been done and what can be done, towards re- 
ducing the enormous drafts which are annually made upon our 
State Treasury, in its behalf. And in October, after the close of 
the fiscal year of the prison, and when its books had been posted 
two of the committee again visited and examined particularly in 
reference to its financial affairs. The results of both examina- 
tions are highly interesting and instructive, and are commended 
to the attention of the Legislature. They will be found at 
length in the Appendix. 



No. 20.] Gl 

The following extract from the minutes of the Board of In- 
spectors, shows that the project of establishing furnaces is seri- 
ously entertained, if not already commenced. 

" At a meeting of the Sti.te Prison Inspectors, held at the Clin- 
ton Prison, Monday, July 14, 1851, Dr. Clark offered the fol- 
lowing resolution : For the purpose of carrying out, and in 
accordance with the original intentions of the Legislature, in the 
establishment of the Clinton Prison. 

Ordered, That the agent of the Clinton Prison proceed with the 
least possible delay, to erect the necessary buildings and machinery, 
for the purpose of manufacturing pig iron, in connexion with a pud- 
dling furnace ; and that he be authorised to procure the services 
of some suitable person to superintend the location and erection 
of the buildings as long as he may deem necessary ; and that 
convicts, as far as may be possible, be employed in the erection 
of the said buildings. 

To which Mr. Angel offered the following amendment: Re- 
solved, That the subject of establishing a furnace, &c, as pro- 
posed by the foregoing resolution, be referred to the Inspector 
in charge, to make the necessary inquiries, and to adopt such 
course, in carrying the same into effect, as his judgment shall 
dictate. Adopted." 



The following tables, recently published, will form some data 
in estimating the probable profit of manufacturing iron at the 
prison as contemplated by the Inspectors. It should be borne in 
mind that at present the convicts simply extract and separate the 
ore, which is then sold to the iron manufacturers in the vicinity. 
As before remarked, no iron has ever been made at the prison. 
Whether the extracting of ore can be much longer followed with 
profit may also be judged from an examination of these tables : 



[Assembly 



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64 [ A.SSEMELY 

FEMALE PRISON. 

Of the female prison at Sing Sing, the committee have little 
to say, except in commendation. No higher praise can be award- 
ed to it, than to say it sustains the high reputation it acquired 
under the administration of a former matron, Mrs. Eliza J. Farn- 
ham. The general management under the present capable mat- 
ron, is both mild and efficient, and a spirit of contentment and 
order seems to prevail among all the inmates. This prison, how- 
ever, is subject to many of the evils which affect our whole pen- 
itentiary system, and will improve to some extent as they shall be 
removed. 

The attention of the committee was called to the fact, that oc- 
casionally a convict gives birth to a child, during the first nine 
months of her imprisonment, and the question suggests itself 
whether some means ought not to be used, to prevent the stigma 
of" born in a prison" being affixed to the innocent offspring. ' 

The fact, that while \ nearly of the male convicts are returned 
to prison the second time, only T \ of the females are recommit- 
ted, speaks well for the influence of this prison. 

In conclusion, your committee submit the following proposi- 
tions deduced from their examinations. 

1. That a great majority of the convicts are susceptible of be- 
ing influenced by the same good motives and impulses, which in- 
fluence other men, and therelore that a system based upon rea- 
son and kindness, tending to inspire feelings of self respect, 
hopefulness and penitence ought to be adopted in all our prisons, 
so far as is practicable without impairing the deterring charac- 
ter essential to any system of punishment. 

2. That the rations of the prisoners should invariably be such 
as are in the opinion of the physician, entirely consistent with 
good health. 

3. That a sufficiency of pure air at all times, and of artificial 
warmth in cold or damp weather, should be introduced into the 
cells and the workshops of the prisons ; and that the means of 



No. 20.] 65 

lighting every cell, except those used for punishment, should be 
provided at each prison, so that no prisoner may be left in dark- 
ness for more than the maximum time required for sleep. 

4. That the use of the yoke and shower bath should be discon- 
tinued, and separate confinement at hard labor, and other priva- 
tions, substituted as means of punishment and discipline. 

5. That all punishments for breaches of discipline in the pris- 
ons, should be inflicted under the direction and supervision of 
the warden, and by some officer unconcerned in the offence 

6. That some systematic aid and encouragement should be af- 
forded to discharged convicts by the State. 

7. That a rigid and thorough examination of the prisons should 
be made, annually under the appointment and direction of the 
Legislature. 

8. That the annual reports of the Inspectors should exhibit cot 
only the cash receipts and expenditures of each prison, but every 
debt incurred and credit allowed by the several agents. 

9. That the government of the prisons, should be entirely di- 
vested of the influence of party politics. 

10. That the number of prisoners at Auburn and Sing Sing, 
should be diminished, by increasing the number to be sent to the 
Clinton prison. 

1 1 . That the length of sentences, especially for first offences, 
should be lessened. 

12. That the government and condition of our county jails and 
penitentiaries, should be thoroughly investigated and reformed. 

All of which is respectfully submitted, 

GEORGE UNDERWOOD, 

CH'S. C. SEVERANCE, 

ALEXANDER GRAHAM, 

JOHN H. WOOSTER, 

GEORGE E. BAKER. 
Albany, Jan. 8, 1851. 

[Assembly No. 20.] 5 



LETTER 

From Blanchard Fosgate, M. D., late Physician of the 
Auburn Prison. 

To Hon. George Underwood, C. C. Severance, J. H. Wooster, 
George E. Baker, Alexander Graham, committee of the Legis- 
lature of the State of New- York, to inquire into the financial 
affairs, discipline, and the general management of the different 
prisons. 

Gentlemen : — In conformity to your request, I propose to commu- 
nicate my views on the government of the State Prison at Auburn, 
premising, however, that I have, in regard to this matter, no personal 
animosity to gratify ; no hope of favor from any quarter, and under 
no fear to deter me from a free expression of my views on a subject 
of such potent consequence to the well being of the State, and to 
the cause of humanity. 

The visible institutions of a State are the embodiment of its 
spirit. It is only through them that the genius of its policy is to be 
comprehended. How essential is it then, that these institutions 
should* present in true light, their great object, and how important 
it is that the State should not by its own acts obstruct the only 
means of being justly known to the world. 

How stands this matter in regard to the prison at Auburn, from 
which has emanated a system of discipline which is either condemned 
or approved by all enlightened nations ; and whose intrinsic charac- 
ter is so unequivocal, that it nowhere stands neutral. The govern- 
ment of almost all well regulated prisons is conducted either on this, 
or on a system widely different in principle, and contradistinguished 
byname. 

The peculiar features of this system are associated labor by day, 
entire isolation by night, and in theory, perfect nonintercourse at all 
times among the convicts. 

Now to maintain such a system, which to every reflecting mind 
must appear at variance with our very organization, penalties com« 



68 [Assembly 

mensurate must be affixed to every infraction of the rules of order ; 
and so long as association and nonintercourse are associated, corpo- 
real punishments must be resorted to ; and such are the means whereby 
the discipline of this prison is sustained. 

Among the physical means to maintain this discipline, there are 
now in use the cold water shower-bath, the yoke and the dungeon. 

Since, by law, the use of the cat-o' nine -tails was abolished in the 
prisons of the State, the shower-bath has been the chief mode of en- 
forcing the discipline of this prison. This mode of punishment, of 
which I have seen much, I am constrained to believe is entirely 
inadequate to accomplish the design. The difficulty arises in part, 
in the objection of the officers to apply a corrective, of the effects of 
which they feel incapable of judging, and from the unequal effects 
of the punishment on different individuals, as well as on the same 
individual at different times, on this account many offences go un- 
punished, each one of which emboldens the offender, ever ready to 
seize any advantage, until his keeper, wearied with his own fears, 
and exasperated by the conduct of the convict, hazards his own 
reputation and the safety of the offender, by using all the means at 
his disposal. 

To convey a just idea of the shower bath as a means of punish- 
ment, as well as to disabuse the community in regard to it, it will 
be necessary to describe as well as may be, the instrument itself, so 
that it can be compared with the bath in common use as a means of 
luxury. 

The form of the machine is that of the common stocks with a 
reservoir of water above it, having a head of fifty-four inches, mea- 
suring from the surface of the water to the perforated plate at the 
end of the discharging tube. The offender, being stripped of his 
clothing, is placed in a sitting posture in the stocks, with feet and 
hands securely fastened, and his head contained in a sort of hopper, 
the bottom of which encircles his neck so closely that the water will 
not run off as fast as it can be let on, the water being under the 
control of the keeper by means of a cord attached to a valve in the 
bottom of the reservoir. From the perforated plate the water falls 
about eighteen inches when it strikes the head of the convict im- 
moveably fixed, thence passing over the whole surface of the body. 
When the reservoir is full, the force of the blow upon the head is 
nearly equal to a column of water seventy-two inches in height. 
This force is somewhat reduced by the intervention of the perforated 
plate ; a late modification in the instrument. 

To the mechanic who calculates the influence of mere matter upon 
matter, the power of this column of water must possess considerable 



No 20.] 69 

importance. But to the physiologist, who can alone judge with any 
degree of correctness of the influence of a stream, generally at 32° 
Fahrenheit, falling upon the head and thence covering the whole 
body, the suffering induced, and danger incurred must appear mo- 
mentous in the extreme. 

In an essay on the employment of water in surgery by Alphonso 
Auguste Amussat of Paris, translated by Prof. Frank H. H. Hamil- 
ton, Buffalo University, there are some applicable remarks relative 
to the physiological effects of water. 

" The application of cold water," he says, " especially in win- 
ter, produces horripilations and shiverings which continue more or 
less time. I have lately seen, in one of the hospitals of Paris, a 
man who had his hand crushed. The surgeon, after having amputa- 
ted two fingers, submitted the hand to continued irrigations of cold 
water. The patient assured me that during eight days he experien- 
ced constant chills, despite all th? means employed to keep him warm. 

" Sanson says he saw a female with whom a superficial burn 
seemed to indicate cool applications, and who was seized with teta- 
nus soon after their use had been commenced. 

" Goursaud reports a case of Guyenot's, in which having been 
applied an hour or two upon a strangulated hernia, the hernia was 
not reduced, and the surgeon, obliged to resort to an operation, found 
the epiploon frozen. 

" Who will affirm, says Mr. Richet, that the application of a 
powerful refrigerant upon a large surface will not, by repelling in- 
ward upon the viscera the blood which originally abounded in the 
diseased part," (and I may add on the surface of the body) " occa- 
sion congestions, and give birth to those complications to which I 
have alluded ! The facts are every where to be seen, and the prac- 
titioner ought to profit by them. 

" I have collected, says Amussat, also several cases of patients who 
having been submitted to irrigations with cold water, have suddenly 
died with some nervous malady. 

These extracts are made to show how powerful and even dangerous, 
the effects of cold water upon the system are, even when employed 
by the most experienced hands. 

Most convicts have great dread of this mode of punishment, but 
as the emotion of fear to the unreflecting mind presents little or no» 
barrier to the commission of crimes having their origin in the emo- 
tions, it does not prevent a violation of rules which are in opposition 
to the instincts, still, when the offender sees the penalty with no 
hope of escape, this most depressing pf the passions augments the 
danger to which he is about to. be exposed. This psychological 



70 [Assembly 

effect is so great upon some individuals before entering the stocks, 
and a pallor so deathlike is induced, that the officer on duty dares 
not subject the offender to this ordeal. I have in one instance heard 
the convict solemnly implore his keeper not to make him an insane 
man. Who is able to comprehend the condition of mind under such 
circumstances ? 

To illustrate the effects of this mode of punishment, I will cite a 
few instances : 

Convict number 5066, aged about thirty years, of sanguine ner- 
vous temperament, was brought to the hospital in a perfectly uncon- 
scious state and with convulsive twichings of the muscles. His 
mouth filled with frothy saliva; no perceptible pulsations in the 
radial artery; but little external heat and very imperfect respira- 
tion. He had been showered, as I was credibly informed, with 
about two pails of cold water. His body was rubbed with stimulants 
and warmly covered with blankets. In about two hours deglutition 
was partially restored, when brandy and other stimulants were admin- 
istered. In four hours after entering the hospital his consciousness 
returned. 

This individual was so nearly destroyed that he had passed into 
that calm, quiet, mental state that immediately precedes death by 
drowning. He said that at last he had the delightful sensation of 
sailing, and then it was all over. He suffered from cramps in his 
lower extremities for about three months after. 

In this case the entire inability of the keeper to judge of the po- 
tency of the punishment was peculiarly manifest. The convict, who 
was in good health and spirits, presented to him no objection to its 
application. In matters within his comprehension, this keeper had 
good judgment, and, withal, was of a humane disposition ; but of 
either the temperament or idiosyncrasy of the convict he knew noth- 
ing, and consequently was incapable of wielding judiciously a means 
so powerful. 

In my presence, convict number 5,458 was showered with one and 
a half barrels of water. During the operation, the muscles of the 
chest and abdomen were severally exercised. Wh^n taken out of 
the stocks his skin was cold and shrivelled; there Wus no perceptible 
pulsation in the temporal or radial arteries, and he complained of 
severe cephalgia. He was showered as long as the officer on duty 
dared to continue it. He made no acknowledgment of. his fault, and 
in my opinion would not have concluded to do so until it was too 
late to be able to accomplish it. This convict possessed a nervous 
bilious temperament, which is known to resist to the utmost every 
means employed to render its possessor subservient to the will of 
others. 



No. 20.] 71 

In this instance the keeper did not desist from any unfavorable 
appearances, but because, as he remarked, he had applied as much 
water as he thought safe. To the physiologist, however, the physi- 
cal condition thus induced, must appear to be of the most serious 
character. Had the punishment been continued much longer, there 
would in all probability have resulted organic lesion from internal 
congestion. 

Convict number 5,507 was showered with two and a half barrels 
of water. This punishment I did not witness, but from the observa- 
tion of the keeper that " the water ran off him as it would from a 
duck without his feeling it," I was induced to interrogate the convict 
myself. To my inquiries he replied that he would have died before 
acknowledging anything. He said the water made his head ache; 
that he felt cold, and that his flesh had the sensation of being asleep. 
His temperament was nervous bilious — the bilious predominating. 
p Convict number 4,565, aged thirty-eightyears, of sanguine nervous 
temperament, and in good health, was showered with three pails of 
cold water. He was taken from the stocks in convulsions which 
lasted some thirty minutes, when he was conveyed to the hospital. 
When I saw him, about an hour afterward, he had congestion of the 
brain, accompanied with severe cephalgia; was laboring under great 
derangement of mind, and recollected but little of what had trans- 
pired. He said he had been struck on his head, but there were no 
external signs of violence. He was bled thirty ounces, and took a 
cathartic potion. The venesection partly relieved the pain, but not 
the derangement. The cathartic operated freely, and on the follow- 
ing morning his mind was apparently clear, but his head still ached. 
He said he felt as though his head was " bound with a band of iron." 
Under the use of blistprs, after several days, t^>e pair? and ccnstric- 
tion gradually subsided. 

Conviet number 4,959 was showered previous to my connection 
with the prison. He told me that while in the stocks, " his head 
ached as though it would certainly split open, when all at once it sud- 
denly stopped and he felt no more pain." He came out of the stocks 
an insane man, hopelessly incurable, though at times he converses 
understanding^ about the punishment. 

Convict number 5,669 was showered with six pails of water dis- 
charged on his head in a half inch stream. Shortly after he fell 
into convulsions from which he emerged with a mind totally destroy- 
ed. He was pardoned in about three months afterwards, and a re- 
port subsequently reached the prison that he did not long survive 
the injury. This occurred previous to my connection with the prison. 



72 [Assembly 

Convict number 5,446, seventeen years old and of lymphatic tern- 
perairent, was showered with three barrels of water, but with little 
or no effect as he himself told me, which shows how useless it is as 
a means of punishment in some cases. 

The instances I have selected for your reflection, are the extremes, — 
not of every day occurrence, — but nevertheless they go to show how 
inappropriate it is to place this punishment in hands totally inade- 
quate to comprehend its power. 

The frequent repetition of the shower bath, I was informed by an 
officer who for several years had acquired more information in regard 
to its effects from personal observation than any other individual in 
the prison, renders the convict less able to resist its influence, and 
that after several applications, it required greater caution in its use. 

The kind of punishment next in frequency inflicted in this prison 
is yoking. The yoke is formed of a flat bar of iron four or five 
inches wide and from five to six feet in length with a moveable sta- 
ple in the centre to encircle the neck, and a smaller one at each end 
to surround the wrists. All these staples are so arranged that by 
turning screws on their protruding ends, on the back of the iron bar, 
they can be tightened to any degree deemed expedient. The weight 
of the lightest yoke is thirty -four pounds avoirdupois, and some of 
them T believe weigh forty. 

The principal objection to this punishment is, that the yoke bears 
too heavily on the cervical vertebra. Most persons are aware of the 
unpleasant, and in fact insupportable sensation produced even by the 
weight of the unbuttoned coat and vest pressing upon the back of 
the neck. Under the weight of this instrument the convict cannot 
retain the erect posture for even a few minutes consecutively, but is 
forced to bend forward in his continual writhing, which brings the 
entire weight of the bar upon the lower cervical vertebra. The arms 
are generally stretched to their full length, and from steady tension 
of the nerves, are benumbed, while the hands turn purple and at 
times become much swollen. In several instances I have placed my 
fingers beneath the yoke, and found the pressure so great that it was 
actually painful to me. 

It is surprising to see how dissimilarly different individuals are 
affected by this punishment. There are those, who from their strong 
physical conformation, one would suppose capable of enduring its 
application for the longest periods, but sixty and even thirty minutes 
will often subdue them. They are generally of sanguine tempera- 
ment and readily succumb. These convicts are the least liable to be 
injured, because repentance for past offences, and promises of good 
conduct for the future accord more with their dispositions than to 



No. 20.] 73 

show, merely for the sake of showing-, great powers of endurance. 
The average time of wearing the yoke I think is about two hours* 

The circumstances under which this punishment occurs are deroga- 
tory to the discipline of the prison, as well as injurious to the health 
of the convicts. While wearing the yoke, the culprit is the butt 
through the sly jeers and unfeeling taunts of his fellow convicts, and 
on this account it is often injuriously and unnecessarily worn to 
show them of what stuff he is made. Their strained and inflamed 
muscles, and swelled and inflamed skin of neck, breast and arms, 
often require medical treatment and rest from labor. 

The severity of this punishment when it falls upon a convict of 
indomitable determination with powerful physical organization, and 
under the influence of excited passion, was sadly portrayed in the 
case of convict number 5,904. This convict wore the yoke for six 
hours and twenty minutes. His passions were so excessively excited 
that he made no acknowledgment or promises for the future, but 
breathed forth vengeance against his keepers, to be gratified in their 
destruction at the first convenient opportunity. The yoke was taken 
off and he sent to the dungeon until the next morning, when he was 
brought to the hospital. His face and eyes were inflamed; the skin 
of the chest and abdomen mottled, inflamed, and excessively tender 
to the touch; pulse sixty; tongue slightly coated; no appetite; sight 
very feeble; hearing acute; intellect so deranged that he apparently 
remembered nothing of what had passed; said he had eat his break- 
fast, which was not the fact; and said that nothing ailed him. 
Occasionally his countenance expressed great emotion, almost burst- 
ing into tears, but it was only momentary. To relieve the heat of 
the head, cold water was applied to the scalp. This, however, WcS 
soon relinquished, for on every application he declared that it scalded 
his head; so much were the sensations deranged. 

The dungeon as a means of discipline is inefficient and expensive. 
It is inefficient because, unless excessively administered, the convict 
cares but little about it; and it is expensive because the labor of 
the prisoner is lost to the State. The convicts are often shut in 
them for many days together. In fact it sometimes happens that all 
division of time is lost— day and night being absolutely confounded, 
and to them the actual duration of confinement lost. This is often 
a trial of endurance on the part of the convict to retaliate upon the 
keeper under whose charge he is, or upon the contractor for whom 
he labors. I have known one convict hold out so long that his 
countenance became bloodless, and his body wasted almost to a 
skeleton form. 



74 [Assembly 

For many years the discipline of this prison was enforced by the 
-application of the cat o'nine tails, but to the honor of the State be 
it remembered, that instrument of torture has, with the advance of 
our civilization, been abolished. It was a means so brutal in its 
nature that both he who used it, and he who bore its stripes were 
alike brutalized in its employment. That such was and ever must 
be the result, our psychological nature affords abundant proof. In 
•its application the familiarity it causes with suffering destroys in the 
breast of the officer all sympathetic feeling, until each enobling 
quality of his nature is lost; and the fierce bursts of passion he is 
often forced to contend against, enkindle, and being oft repeated, 
strengthen in him a like element only to be appeased in vanquishing 
all opposition; while in the bosom of the enraged convict, feeling 
keenly his own degradation, is deeply implanted a spirit of revenge 
there secretly to corrode until every higher feeling is obliterated. 

It is still contended by the advocates of the cat, that, as compared 
with other modes of punishment, it is the least objectionable, because 
unattended with danger, and that there is little or no permanent in- 
jury to be feared from its judicious use. To such a conclusion, how- 
ever, the annals of this prison afford sufficient evidence to the con- 
trary. Were it not that an indirect effort is being made to re- 
establish this means of enforcing discipline, I would pass it by in 
silence; but in view of such a catastrophe, I am induced to relate 
two instances to show that what was considered by two different 
wardens of the prison a judicious application, was not only injudi- 
cious but inhuman in the extreme. 

In February of 1846, a coroner's inquest was held on the body of 
Charles S. Plumb, a convict in the Auburn Prison, supposed to have 
died in consequence of being severely whipped in the presence of 
the warden. The jury in this case did not come to the conclusion 
that the convict was actually whipped to death, but the Inspectors 
of the prison discharged the warden in consequence of the occur- 
rence. The facts were as follows : Mr. Rathbun, (the warden) tes- 
tified that the convict, previous to his being whipped on Monday, 
went above and broke out some window glass, and threw out a jug of 
oil with some other property ; that at another time when making a 
noise in his cell, and being interrogated as to his name replied, 
"" steamboat," which was the only answer he would give; at anoth- 
er time he tore the books and bedding of his cell, and also his own 
clothes. Mr. Doubleday, the predecessor of Mr. Rathbun, testified 
that Plumb was a " wayward boy but not malicious, his conduct was 
strange, but did not indicate insanity, his strangeness was a viola- 



No. 20.] 75 

tion of rules without any apparent motive when he was liable to 
be punished. 

It requires but little reflection to perceive that the testimony here 
given is almost, if not quite sufficient to establish the fact of mental 
alienation. The little petty acts of breaking glass, tearing books 
and his own clothing, and applying to himself the epithet of steam- 
boat when making a noise, probably in imitation of the steam- 
pipes, and all without any apparent motive when he was liable to 
be whipped for every offence, and even after he had been whipped 
repeatedly, should have convinced any man of ordinary judgment 
that such at least might have been his condition. But fortunately 
we are not left in doubt on this point. Mr. Weigan, in whose em- 
ploy Plumb had been previous to his conviction, testified, that it 
was the talk among the hands, that Plumb was crazy, and he also 
considered him so himself; and that after leaving him he continued 
deranged. It was also sufficiently apparent, that it was the impres- 
sion in the prison, that the convict was not of sound mind, for Mr. 
Cray, foreman to a contractor, in testimony said, that Plumb could 
not be " very crazy " because he defended his head in falling upon 
a chest. The clerk of the prison also said to the hospital physician 
on his entering the prison, that he had a " hard case ," another" orazy 
man " to examine. This convict had been whipped ten or eleven 
times. Now it is the general opinion of those having the insane in 
charge, that corporial punishment and compulsory labor increase 
mental alienation, and under the influence of such treatment, insan- 
ity in an aggravated form, would have, sooner or later, been devel- 
oped in the case of Plumb. 

On the post-mortem examination the whole posterior surface of the 
trunk was so lacerated and inflamed, that the number of stripes inflicted 
could not be determined, but they were not less than between three 
hundred and sixty and six hundred as appeared in testimony. The 
constitutional irritation commenced during the chastisement in invol- 
untary serous evacuations of the bowels. This was soon followed 
by apparent prostration, shortly succeeded by rigors with only a 
slight reaction. Then came high delirium, which soon degenerated 
into stupor, gradually becoming comatose, and finally, after a period 
of less than four days sickness, terminated in dissolution. 

The cutaneous portion of the nervous system is the most sensi- 
tive and extensively diffused of any of its parts, and its sympathies 
are with the whole economy. The reduction of the powers of in- 
nervatien commenced with the diarrhoea ; the relation of parts was 
broken up and the stamina of the system proved inadequate to aus- 



76 [Assembly 

tain the shock, although the convict was in good health up to the 
infliction of the punishment. Thus, under the lash, perished a hu- 
man being from whose mind God had removed the light of reason, 
possibly to set in stronger light before the eyes of men the inhu- 
manity and the danger of this means of discipline. 

The other instance, though not fatal in its result, was that of a 
convict who became insane and refused to work. Instead of the ad- 
vantages of an asylum, to restore to reason the unfortunate being the 
cat was resorted to to cure the " crazy man?' He was whipped and 
sent to his cell. In the excited state of his mind he rent to shreds 
his wearing apparel. On the following morning he was whipped for 
destroying his clothes. On the succeeding night he not only de- 
stroyed the clothes on his body, but his bedding suffered the same 
fate. Again the cat was applied as the panacea for his malady, but 
with as little success as before. This course was pursued at inter- 
vals for months, until at last, after suffering infinitely more than the 
loss of life, he was, through executive clemency, turned upon com- 
munity, disabled in body and ruined in mind, to be supported through 
life a county pauper. 

Those who may think this statement an idle tale, have only to 
call to mind the pedestrian Dan. Smith, who has traversed the streets 
of this city for ten years, the source of continued fear to many, and 
the object of pity to all — a living monument to the barbarity of this 
mode of punishment. 

These punishments, taken separately or together, as a means of 
discipline, I believe inadequate to accomplish the object intended ; 
"while they are derogatory to the mental, moral, and physical health 
of the convicts. They are of that kind also which is calculated to 
arouse opposition. When this is the case, additional physical force 
is resorted to to execute them, and severe injuries are aften the re- 
sult, the officers not always escaping unhurt. To reduce the refrac- 
tory to submission, mental and physical health are often sacrificed 
beyond reparation, and premature death, I doubt not, sometimes fol- 
lows. I remember two instances in which the punishments in use were 
applied in every degree of severity, and even after the reason of one 
and the body of the other had succumbed to the dreadful ordeal 
through which they had passed, their determined spirits were not re- 
duced. The one, number 5.330, when last seen by me was a fit sub- 
ject for an insane asylum ; and the other, number 5,353, had passed 
many days in the hospital in consequence of the punishments he had 
suffered. 

It would scarcely be credited should I state that a system of tor- 
ture to obtain confessions and information, not otherwise to be had, 



No. 20.] 77 

is in full force in this institution. Yet such is the fact, and the show- 
er bath is the ready instrument of its execution. This machine is but 
a modification of the water punishments of the Spanish inquisition, 
and will as certainly extort truth or falsehood from the sufferer, 
either to gratify the wishes or confirm the suspicions of a keeper of 
the Auburn prison, as its original did in the hands of the inquisito- 
rial fathers. 

Upon the rehearsal of circumstances so revolting to every feeling 
of humanity, one is ccnstrained to inquire whether the infliction of 
so much misery is necessary to maintain the discipline of this pris- 
on. The question is affirmatively answered in the fact, that the 
"Auburn system of prison discipline" is a system of absolute physi- 
cal force, in which enters not the idea of moral government at all. 
If I am correctly informed, this system had for its founder John D. 
Cray, who in the war of 1812 was an inferior officer in the British 
army then stationed in Canada, from which he was a deserter. Mr. 
Cray was a man of uncommon energy and decision of character, and 
possessed a fund of information seldom equaled even by those upon 
whom wealth and station had showered their favors. To this re- 
markable personage belongs the honor or infamy of being its projec- 
tor. During its infancy and for many years of its successful opera- 
tion he was the chief disciplinarian. Subsequently, under the war- 
denship of Elam Lynds, this system attained its full perfection. From 
that period dates its gradual decay, And while this has steadily 
retrograded, other prisons, working on a system more in harmony 
with the nature of man, and more in accordance with the improved 
state of society around them, have kept pace with the advancement 
of civilization. 

If the means resorted to, to maintain order in this prison, are 
derogatory to the health of the convict ; inadequate to accomplish 
the end proposed; and in opposition to the spirit of the day in 
which we live, what plan is there whereby it may be made to effect 
the object desired? I answer, that permanent separate confinement 
for such convicts upon whom moral government would have no abid- 
ing influence; and occasional isolation and change in kind and 
quantity of food for .«uch, who from thoughtlessness or other causes 
will not conform steadily to the rules of order. This punishment in 
connection with materials and implements for labor to occupy their 
minds and exercise their bodies, would prove all-sufficient to accom- 
plish the desired end. 

Few persons not familiar with the population of large prisons can 
have just conceptions of the kind of character there to be met A 



78 [Assembly 

prevalent impression is, that convicts generally are in mental endow- 
ments somewhat above the common standard of humanity; but an 
acquaintance with this portion of mankind will dispel the delusion. 
They are in truth below mediocity in intellectual power; and while 
they are fully equal to it in animal propensity, they are sadly deficient 
in conscientious sensibility. They possess in fact but little force of 
character. There is, probably, no portion of the human family so 
easily controlled as that, whose sad lot it is to merit a prison home. 
Now, although the great mass of convicts can, by judicious manage- 
ment be brought to a state of order; there is, nevertheless a portion, 
though small, which any system of government that shall essay to 
restrain its will, is by that portion to be met and resisted. For this 
class, permanent solitary confinement with labor is the humane, and 
in fact, as prison history proves, the only method by which it can 
be controlled. As an example to deter others, I feel confident that 
a greater dread would be induced in the convict mind by a liability 
to work out its sentence in solitude, than all the physical punishments 
that could be presented to its imagination. 

The adaptation of such a system of punishment for infraction of 
rules of order, will be more clearly perceived when all the elements 
that make a prison are brought to view. The officers of the insti- 
tution are no more than human beings. They are as liable as men 
in other stations to have their reason darkened and their judgment 
warped by their own excited passions, which must often be the case 
when applying physical force as a punishment to those who dare 
offend against their authority. But in the occasional solitary sys- 
tem, passion would find no cause of excitement; all would be calm 
and the wished for effect attained with greater certainty than by a 
conflict with the very elements of mind which should be held dor- 
mant. 

The diversity of race with which the officers have to deal is a 
source of almost insurmountable difficulty. It can scarcely be sup- 
posed that the men who generally fill such stations, can be conver- 
sant with this subject. Yet the occasional solitary system, would in 
a measure relieve them from the necessity for such knowledge. Our 
prison population is composed of elements in the form of race, which 
require in its management deep reflection. The frank, manly qual- 
ity of the Saxon character, laboring for the love of labor itself, can- 
not be changed any more than the improvident, indolent, dissimula- 
ting Celt can be transformed in his original conformation. The Jew 
who never works, is not to be brought to endure the hardest labor 
for any length of time by means of the lash. Neither is the confi- 
ding, imitative, and delicately organized African to be brought up 



No. 20.] 79 

by physical pain to our high standard of energy, any more than 
the proud spirited son of the forest, in whose breast the Almighty 
has implanted a deep hatred to all our forms of civilization, can be 
made to see things as we perceive them. Then to the disparity of 
race, should be added the temperament of each individual, as well as 
his possible idiosyncrasy, which cannot be judged of without an 
amount of knowledge and discriminative power not usually possessed 
by prison officers. 

Having succinctly expressed my views of the punishments, and 
their bearing upon the discipline and health of the convicts, I would 
now direct your attention to some other circumstances connected 
with, and affecting the government and well being of the institution. 

The contract system has become so deeply interwoven with the 
management of the prison, that it is difficult for one having the 
whole subject in view, to determine, satisfactorily, whether the State 
or the contractor is the superior power. To be understood, it should 
be steadily borne in mind that each alternation of party ascendency, 
suddenly changes every official, from the warden to the gate tender; 
while the contractors may be, and often are, connected with the es- 
tablishment for many years in succession. It can readily be per- 
ceived how prodigiously the influence of the contractor must be in- 
creased with every change of officers. These contracts are general- 
ly held by individuals possessed of wealth, and endowed with tal- 
ents; influential in society, and oftener than otherwise, powerful in 
party politics. In fact they are among the strongest members in com- 
munity. Now would it not be preposterous to suppose, that men, 
whose salaries range from three hundred and sixty to one thousand 
dollars per annum, but who under more favorable circumstances 
would make good officers for the State, even although their pay is 
scarcely sufficient to support them, could meet single handed those 
contractors, whose familiarity with the institution must give them an 
advantage over both officers and convicts, absolutely incalculable. 
The truth is that the interests of the State, and the interests of the 
contractor is continually at variance. It would seem that the in- 
stitution was established to gratify the cupidity of the one, to the 
total disregard of the other; and that the momentous interests of so- 
ciety, in the good management of the criminal were entirely lost 
sight of. So long as the nature of man remains unchanged, just so 
long will these opposing interests when associated, continue to ope- 
rate with the same deplorable results. 

To illustrate by facts of every day occurrence how the health of 
convicts is injured by the contract system, I will state that each 



80 [Assembly 

convict has a stint to perform, the amount of which is put down at 
what the contractor considers a day's work for a sound man. The 
stint, for instance in Brussels carpet weaving hr a certain portion 
of the year is fixed at four yards a day. Now it is well known, 
that while an active workman can produce this quantity of carpet 
with ease, one less active — possessed of less sleight, is unable with 
safety to his health, to accomplish the task ; yet so long as he is 
not on the sick list, he must be punished unless he performs the 
work; the medical officer can afford him no relief. In many cases 
the result is, that through excessive labor and frequent punishment, 
the convict is permanently broken down, and he enters on the half- 
pay list, there to be forced through as much work as the keeper and 
contractor think advisable. It is well known that, with only occa- 
sional exceptions, four years spent in carpet weaving in this prison, 
consumes the physical energy. The labor of a convict, it must be 
remembered, has no alternations of rest. Even the christian sabbath 
is no relief to him. Although he does not work, the extra duration 
of that day's confinement is less supportable than the week day 
labor. 

To show of what kind of material the population of this prison is 
composed, I will state that of the 580 convicts received to prison 
and examined by myself during my connection with it, 230 came 
in more or less sick; 190 had sustained mechanical injuries; 83 
were consumptive or had consumption in their families; 23 were 
ruptured; 5 insane; 3 epileptic; and the remaining 38 were ad- 
judged sound. Of those convicts, as nearly as I could determine, 
369 were of Saxon blood; 148 Celtic; 57 African; 3 Jewish, and 
3 Aboriginal. In this classification, the mixed bloods have been 
enumerated with that race to which they appeared the most nearly 
allied. Now, to say that the State ever intended to define the 
amount of daily labor to be equal on every individual of this motley 
mass, widely differing in health, in mental power, in temperament, 
in physical energy, and in mental and physical organization, would 
be to charge it with imbecility. And yet, the contract system, utter- 
ly disregarding these conditions, places them all on the same plat- 
form, with the exception of bodily infirmity, and only then when it 
is too palpable to be mistaken. 

To make plain the inability of the physician to contend with the 
contractors, I will relate for example that convict number 5,507 on 
taking his seat one morning at the hospital table said, " doctor, un- 
less you stand by me, I shall certainly be broken down with the 
work they make me do ; it is the hardest work in the shop." In 



No. 20.] y 81 

reply, I said I would see what could be done for him. This convict 
was about twenty years of age. He had a delicately formed physi- 
cal organization, great mental energy, and worked hard, for with 
his quality of mind he could not be idle. Immediately I requested 
his keeper to persuade if possible the contractor to change his work. 
The keeper seconded my request, but without success. Again and 
again this convict applied at the hospital for assistance, but he was not 
sick, therefore nothing could be done for him until, when at last his 
physical powers were sinking under the excessive labor, I made an 
order to relieve him from the work in which he was engaged. The 
contractor, smarting under restricted cupidity, and driven by passion, 
excited by what he considered an unwarrantable interference on my 
part, applied to the warden for redress. The convict was returned 
to his work, and the hospital record of a long sickness shows the 
result. 

As much as the health of this institution suffers by the contract 
system, the discipline, I am inclined to believe, is still more injured 
by its influence. By a resolution of the Board of Inspectors, there is 
no overwork to be asked of the convicts, and no compensation is al- 
lowed to be made them for labor. In commercial affairs it not un- 
frequently happens that an extraordinary demand for manufactured 
goods occurs. Now if this demand is to be supplied with the pro- 
duce of convict labor, although already up to the established stint, must 
be increased. How is this to be done? By the rules of the prison, 
the convicts being deprived of the indulgence of all the luxuries of 
appetite, a paper of fine cut tobacco, a piece of cake or pie, or some 
of the fruits of the season are of more value to him in his confine- 
ment than one, not acquainted with the subject, can possibly con- 
ceive. The distribution of all these articles to favorite workmen by 
the contractors and their foremen, is of easy accomplishment without 
the officers noticing it; and even should he be cognizant of the fact, 
with what justice to himself can he report an influential contractor 
for infringement of the rules and orders when the general impression 
is that his services may be at the mercy of that interest. By taking 
advantage of these circumstances, the convicts can be worked far 
beyond their healthy endurance. Under such influences, I was in- 
formed that a convict had wove for many days together, six yards 
of brussels carpet each day. I myself have known a whole shop 
bribed by the distribution of fine cut tobacco substituted for the com- 
mon plug supplied by the State. In another shop money was used 
for the same purpose, and it was charged upon another that spirits 
were given to some convicts with a like view. Such transactions 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 6 



82 [Assembly 

must tell fearfully on the discipline; for as the keeper dares not re- 
port the contractor for furnishing the convict with means, by the use 
of which he disobeys the laws, so he cannot punish the convict for 
infractions of rules which he is actually stimulated to violate. No- 
thing can be more certain than that the habitual violation of a single 
law with impunity, will have a prejudicial effect upon the whole 
system of discipline. I have no doubt many convicts are permanently 
disabled by the over work they are thus secretly induced to perform. 

In the government of this prison the State allows one keeper for 
every twenty-five convicts. This number is about double what would 
be required to enforce the discipline, provided each officer was select- 
ed for his fitness to fill so responsible a station, instead of being ap- 
pointed as a reward of fealty to party. Could the remaining num- 
ber be selected with reference to their mechanical skill, and under 
their direction employ the convicts of such occupations by which 
they could gain an honest living when discharged, the State, al- 
though it might not show quite so favorable an account in dollars 
and cents, would nevertheless reduce the frequency of second, third, 
and even fourth convictions. Under such circumstances, there would 
be no conflicting interests at work to mar its usefulness. The good 
of the State, instead of individual aggrandizement, would then be 
the great object in view. It would be a prison instead of a manu- 
factory. Labor would be enforced both as punishment and occupa- 
tion; and while it would not interfere with the discipline, it could 
be so ordered as not to destroy the convict. The rules regulating 
the intercourse between officers and convicts, if devised in conformity 
to the nature of man, would inspire in the breast of the convict^ 
feelings of respect towards his keeper, or indues in him a pervading 
dread of his authority. 

The cause of humanity requires a commission of lunacy to inquire 
at frequent intervals into the condition of our prisons. From my 
own knowledge of this prison, I can come to no other conclusion 
than that an amount of injury from the want of such a commission 
is past all belief. Without such an assistance, unless the whole 
management of this prison is radically changed, the physician can 
do little or nothing for insane convicts, as he is absolutely debarred 
exercising the highest function of his calling, that of being a friend 
to the afflicted, which under other circumstances is his peculiar pri- 
vilege. As it now is, should he even hint at the possibility of a 
convict being insane, he is not only met with the jeers and ridicule 
of the contractors and their swarm of foremen, but most disgraceful 
to relate, by the officers proper, to the institution itself. " The man 



No. 20.] 83 

is coming a game over you," say they; "we can cure him of all his 
craziness." Such instances have occurred so often, and can be so 
readily understood, that particular citations would be superfluous. 

Some instances to show the importance of a commission, I will 
relate. Convict number 5,563, came to prison in a deranged state 
of mind, induced by too severe study of the law. He was unused 
to labor, and his infirmity, at *imes, rendered him unable to do so. 
On one occasion he was directed by his keeper to collect a quantity 
of scattered brick then being thrown from an old wall. As he did 
not perform the task satisfactorily, he was put in the shower bath, 
from which he emerged, anxious to do his work as required. Among 
other disabilities, either actual or fancied, he could not at all times 
see, from the interposition of a black spot in his field of vision. But, 
suffering from the severe punishment just inflicted, regardless of cir- 
cumstances, he rushed to his work beneath a shower of falling 
brick. In a few minutes after he was carried to the hospital in a 
comatose state; his head still wet from the shower bath; and his 
hair clotted with blood from a wound in the scalp caused by a fall- 
ing brick The insanity of this convict, so far as I know, was nev- 
er doubted in the prison. There had been an effort made by some 
friends to obtain either a pardon for him, or a transfer to the Luna- 
tic Asylum. In their application to the Inspectors, then at the 
prison, they presented letters from the judge who tried, and the Dis- 
trict Attorney, who arraigned him, stating their belief from facts 
which did not appear on the trial, that he was of unsound mind. 
Still this individual is serving out a sentence that the State never 
contemplated. 

Convict number 4,073, has been in prison about nine years. 
Some three years since it was noticed that his work was becoming 
imperfectly done; yet, to all appearance, he was as attentive to his 
duty as ever. This difficulty increased so rapidly that the contractor 
entered complaint, when, upon examination, it was thought he might 
be becoming insane. His work was changed, but this broke in upon 
his established habits, and rendered him still worse. His insanity, 
fortunately, was of the kind allowed in this prison. He was not 
violent not even talkative; did not attempt to hold conversation with 
his keeper without first respectfully asking permission, which usu- 
rally occured, as that officer told me, once in about three months. 
This convict was a stranger to all about him, except by sight, and 
for nearly two years he has done little or no labor, but goes to his 
meals when told, and to his cell when so directed by his keeper. 

Convict number 4,947 was sentenced to prison for the term of ten 
years. For the first year he did his work and conformed to the 



84 [Assembly 

rules with great propriety, but at its termination demanded his re- 
lease as being the end of his term. Upon this he so firmly insisted, 
that to convince him of his error, he was taken to the office, shown 
the commitment, and informed that criminals were never sentenced 
for a less period than two years. He returned to his work and 
performed his duty for another year, on the last day of which he 
again demanded his release From that time, for several years, 
even to the day of his death, the officers never succeeded in their 
endeavors to make him work, although I doubt whether any human 
being ever suffered more or severer punishments without the loss of 
life. I shall never forget the lofty bearing and super-human firmness 
of spirit he exhibited during his short but fatal sickness in the hos- 
pital. It was the result of a strong mind, exalted and strengthened 
in its derangement. How can it be otherwise, than that such con- 
victs should injure a discipline to which neither the laws of God nor 
man intended they should be subjected. The only relief in such 
cases would be in an appointment by the Legislature of a permanent 
commission of lunacy, composed of men eminent for their capacity, 
independent by their position, humane in their sentiments, and for 
reasons too obvious to mention, having no connection with either the 
prisons or asylums of the State, and into whose hands should be 
intrusted the detention in the prison of insane convicts, or their 
transfer to a lunatic asylum. 

In examining the many circumstances affecting injuriously the 
government and health of convicts. I may mention the use made of 
the hope of pardon, both by the contractors to stimulate them to 
greater diligence in labor, and by the officers to encourage obedience 
to the rules. Now it must be readily perceived, that to make such 
use of the strongest sentiment of our nature is not only immoral, but 
dangerous. It is immoral, because it operates as a delusion to the 
great mass of convicts, and dangerous, because the feverish excite- 
ment in which many of them are kept from one session of the In- 
spectors to another, is calculated to injure the health of both body 
and mind. The pardoning power, for the good management of this 
institution, should be restricted to prisoners convicted on doubtful 
testimony, or suffering from excessive sentences. The convict on 
entering its gates, should have no reason to hope for a mitigation 
of his sentence ; the man would then appear more nearly what he 
is, and the intercourse between him and his keeper could be estab- 
lished on a reasonable foundation. 

The custom of admitting other than the legally appointed chaplain 
to administer to the spiritual wants of the convicts, is also a source 
of great evil. Out of the doctrine of religious liberty and perfect 



No. 20. J 85 

freedom of conscience in regard to eternal things — to be found no 
where on the broad face of the earth except where planted and sus- 
tained by the Saxon — has sprung the error, that not only the virtuous, 
but men incarcerated for crime, bound under the law for offences 
against the very life principle of religious liberty, should exercise 
that right in common with the rest of mankind. Should this doc- 
trine be carried out in regard to the convict population of this prison, 
so bent on variety are its inmates, so diversified would be the exhi- 
bition of tastes, I doubt not that heathen, as well as teachers of the 
true God, in all their forms would soon be required to fill that de- 
partment. Now that this error should be made the pretext, both by 
those within and those without its walls, for inlerference with the 
head of this department in regard to the religious instruction of con- 
victs, is truly unfortunate. There could scarcely be devised a state of 
things better calculated to defeat the great object contemplated in 
the appointment of a chaplain. The duties of that officer are suffi- 
ciently arduous in a field the harvest of which is at least doubtful if 
not absolutely barren, without augmenting the difficulties which un- 
avoidably beset his path. This custom sadly breaks in upon the 
teachings of that individual who is expending all his time, and em- 
ploying all his talents for the moral improvement of his charge, and 
who must, from his knowledge of both time and circumstance as re- 
gards the convict, be the best able to decide when and how to prof- 
fer his counsel and advice. 

On one occasion, some three or four years since, a Roman Bishop 
was invited to hold religious converse with such convicts as might 
desire it ; whereupon there immediately arose among the inmates of 
this prison religious feuds : church governments took the place of 
christian principles, and preposterous as it may appear, the dogmas 
of protestant and papal doctors were of such vital interest and church 
ceremonies of so vast importance in the opinions of the criminals, and the 
sectarian feelings of convicts ran so high in regard to them, that ulti- 
mately the chapel became the theatre of their operations and the shower 
bath was resorted to to quell the open exhibitions of church zealots. 
Such influences, where the christian graces, not the conflict of christian 
sects are wanted, must add to the difficulties of good government. 

The Sunday school, also, though conceived in a spirit of benevo- 
lence, is of doubtful propriety in the management of this prison. 
The admission of some thirty individuals, on whom all the ingenuity 
of the convicts can be exerted to obtain, directly or indirectly, all 
sorts of information possible, as well as to excite the sympathy of 
their teachers with the hope of ultimate pardon, is calculated to en- 
gender hypocrisy, and therefore is not without serious objection. 



86 [Assembly 

Tho practice of admitting extraneous assistance in its moral and 
religious affairs, interferes with that quiet, sober, orderly state so 
desirable in this extensive prison. To regulate this branch of the 
institution, and render it as beneficial as possible, that unjust regu- 
lation, restricting the chaplain to minister to the convicts only after 
their day's work is completed and they locked in their cells,|should 
be rescinded. He should be allowed to choose his own time in 
which to minister to the spiritual welfare of his charge, indepen- 
dent of all other interference; then there would be abundant time 
to bestow on every convict all the instruction and advice that good 
judgment and christian charity might dictate. 

The custom of exhibiting the convicts to gratify the idle or mor- 
bid curiosity of visitors is another source of great mischief. To 
govern this prison well, everything about it should be calm, quiet, 
and secluded; with as few circumstances to attract the attention of 
its inmates, always on the alert to catch every word uttered, and see 
every novelty that may present, as possible. The promiscuous ad- 
mission of visitors is repugnant to such a condition. The health of 
the convicts also is seriously affected by it The great majority of 
them are possessed of strong animal propensities, and upon such the 
influence of female visitors is decidedly prejudicial. On one occa- 
sion a convict stated that he had laid aside his work more than fifty 
times to seize upon them when they were passing by, so strongly 
were his passions excited. On another occasion a convict threw his 
arms about a female visitor as she was passing, and saluted her 
with his kisses. Self-pollution is undoubtedly stimulated by these 
visits, and on that account alone, the custom should be discontinued. 
This evil, so common in this prison, is a great cause of premature 
decay, and a source of mental apathy quite frequent among the con- 
victs. 

Thus far, in compliance with your wishes, I have endeavored to 
present my views of the government of this prison. It only remains 
for me to show the position of its medical officer. 

In ray annual report, dated Dec. 2nd, 1850, to the Inspectors, I 
remark that there is no officer in this institution who is regarded as, 
or acknowled to be. the head of its hygiene. The physician has al- 
ways been regarded by its superior officers, in the light merely, of 
a medical practitioner, to cure- — not to prevent disease. Was this 
officer invested with positive power to regulate and control this de- 
partment, the principles of humanity would be better subserved, the 
interests of the State would be greatly furlhered, the object and in- 
tent of State prison punition more fully attained, and the whole sys- 



No. 20.] 87 

tern would accord more perfect!}- than it now does, with the advance- 
ment of our civilization. To show the grounds upon which this 
statement was based, it becomes necessary to relate some circum- 
stances which transpired during my own official term. 

Soon after my connection with this institution, I observed that pul- 
monary derangements and rheumatic affections were prevailing dis- 
eases. It appeared to me that to discover the cause and propose, as 
far as might be, a remedy, was the peculiar province of the medical 
officer. Consequently I instituted a series of observations to deter- 
mine the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere of the dormito- 
xies. In this, however, I was not seconded by the officers. I pro- 
posed to those on night duty to take the state of the mercury, as 
shown by the thermometer and hygrometer at stated periods, but they 
were either unwilling to attend to it, or too stupid to understand the 
directions: therefore my observations were limited mostly to the day 
time, but I readily discovered that the atmosphere was exceedingly 
humid, anil that the temperature varied many degrees, not only indif- 
ferent localities, but at different hours of the night. To reduce the 
moisture of the atmosphere I proposed that the shower bath, situa- 
ted at the west end of the north wing, and which, from its frequent 
use, kept the pavement of that corridor continually wet, should be 
removed. The large doors too, opening out of the kitchen, where 
the hygrometer showed the atmosphere almost always at the 
point of saturation, was another source of the humidity. On this 
wing there were lodged at that time about five hundred convicts, 
every one of whom was exposed to injury, from an atmosphere so 
damp that dew was frequently found deposited upon their garments 
in the morning. For this reason I proposed that the shower bath 
be removed, and that the openings leading from the kitchen be pro- 
vided with light spring doors, which would in a measure remedy the 
defect, neither of which, however, were acceded to. To the defects 
in the temperature and dryness of the atmosphere of the dormitories, 
I attribute in a great degree the development of consumption, of 
which disease, Dearly one half the convicts who have died since the 
foundation of this prison were afflicted, and to the same cause I as- 
scribe in a great degree the prevalence of rheumatism. But con- 
sumption was set down as incurable; and as for rheumatism, the con- 
victs, say the keepers and contractors, are always afflicted with dis- 
eases, of which there is no evidence except in their own affirmation. 
Occasionally I stated that the convicts were not at all times 
sufficiently clothed to resist the changes of this climate and retain 
their health; that the wearing of woolen shirts should be the rule, 



88 [Assembly 

and the use of cotton the exception; but the ever ready reply was 
that never in their lives before were they so well clothed, and that 
they all worked in warm shops. On several occasions I ventured 
to state the propriety of changes in the food of the convicts, but the 
keeper in the kitchen had been there at intervals for seventeen years, 
and knew exactly the best course to pursue! On one occasion, 
during the prevalence of epidemic dysentery in the prison, I pro- 
posed the use of rice in place of dry beans as food, and although it 
was publicly stated that the State was sinking not less than six hun- 
dred dollars a week in consequence of this sickness, I was informed 
that there was not rice enough in the city for a day's ration! When 
this epidemic was at its height, I complained of the constant acidity 
of the bread, upon which the agent informed me that he was as 
good a judge of bread as myself, notwithstanding the law made the 
physician, instead of the agent of the prison, the judge of the quality 
of the food. On one occasion I objected to the use of camphine 
in the cells as a destroyer of bed bugs. Many convicts complained 
of great lassitude, and even faintness in the morning in consequence 
of its use. In these cases there was a development of idiosyncrasy 
in regard to turpentine, the volatility being increased by its combi- 
nation with alcohol. My objection was answered by the remark, 
that camphine was found to be the best article for that purpose yet 
tried. And finally, to sum up this whole matter in regard to the 
hygiene of this great State institution, in but one single instance 
was my opinion or suggestion carried into effect. Hygiene, in a 
measure, is not only a new, but somewhat abstruse science, requiring 
more information on the part of those who do not closely examine, 
to comprehend its vast importance than can reasonably be expected, 
therefore, any innovation upon the established custom was met by 
obstacles over which the medical officer apparently had no control. 
Another subject, still more revolting to the feelings of the physi- 
cian and as derogatory to the welfare of the institution is, that 
throughout the whole prison there are to be found doctors of every 
name and nature that the long catalogue of empiricism can supply. 
In the first rank is to be found a large proportion of the officers 
proper; then come the contractors followed by their foremen, and 
last of all the convict doctors themselves, of whom there are at all 
times a goodly number. As each and all these practitioners have a 
ready and infallible remedy for every complaint, the patient, not 
unfrequently goes through the whole corps before he reaches the 
hospital. This interference is a source of unmeasured evil to the 
health of the convicts, and injurious to the good management of the 
institution. ' 



No. 20.] 89 

To show this to be no fancy sketch, I will relate a few instances in 
point. During the prevalence of epidemic dysentery in the summer 
of 1850, a convict from the shoe shop died of that disease. An- 
other, number 5,427, was similarly attacked, upon which one of the 
foremen said to him, " if you do not wish to go as Henderson did, 
you had better stay from the hospital; I can cure you;" whereupon 
he immediately administered a lobelia emetic, (he w r as a steam doc- 
tor,) followed by strong ginger tea. This treatment failed to per- 
form a cure, when another foreman in the same shop proposed to try 
his skill. He purchased of a druggist a cholera preparation con- 
taining about seven grains of opium, which was administered in one 
dose; the convict was then sent to his cell. On the following morn- 
ing he was carried to the hospital so seriously ill that his recovery 
seemed very doubtful. After remaining three or four weeks, he was 
able to return to his shop, but performed little or no work, as I was 
informed, during the remainder of his incarceration. During the 
same epidemic, in the presence of about forty invalids then in the 
hospital, a keeper on duty, taking from his vest pocket a vial of 
homoeopathic pills, proclaimed in the hearing of all present that 
that medicine would cure the whole of them in a single day; and 
that the only time he ever had the dysentery in his life, one dose 
effectually cured him! His own wife died of chronic diarrhoea, not- 
withstanding the remedy possessed such wonderful power! Another 
keeper, who was connected with the prison for about one year, prac- 
ticed homoeopathy openly among the convicts during his official ca- 
reer. Convict number 5,460 was partially deranged and addicted 
to the use of opium. From close observation, I discovered that the 
use of the drug was decidedly prejudicial to his affection, and I gra- 
dually reduced the quantity of opium, with the intention of ultimately 
depriving him of it altogether. He did not, as was to be expected,, 
produce as much work. The contractor entered complaint, and the 
keeper applied to me for " a small chunk" of opium which he said 
he would deal out to him as he thought best ! Another convict had 
a phlegmonous inflammation of the hand, which resulted in a palmar 
abscess. After several days it occurred^to me that he had not pre- 
sented himself as usual at the hospital, when upon inquiry I discov- 
ered that he had been clandestinely admitted to the hospital at night 
and returned to his shop early in the morning. His hand, under the 
combined counsel and direction of the keepers of the hospital, the 
kitchen and the shop to which he belonged, was daily dressed with 
fresh cow's dung. How long he remained under the care of his cow- 
dung doctors I do not know. 



90 [As 



SEMBLY 



Now that all this intermeddling with the province of the medical 
officer of this prison is no new thing, it will be only necessary to 
mention that in addition to the doctoring of which the above exam- 
ples give only a faint idea, I have known prescriptions written by 
the officers and sent by sick convicts to my predecessors in office, as 
being the medicine best adapted to the disease of the patient. And 
in further illustration of my subject, it will not be amiss to mention 
that the present prison physician, although he has visited most of 
the noted hospitals of England, and on the continent of Europe, for 
the purpose of enlarging his professional knowledge, has never been 
asked his opinion, pro or con, in regard to the extensive hospital 
now being constructed in the very prison under his medical charge. 
In my report referred to above, I stated that * the system of pun- 
ishments adopted to enforce the rules prescribing the conduct of 
convicts is reserved to be examined in a future report, should such 
an opportunity occur.' It was also my intention to have reported, 
upon many other topics relating to what T conceived would conduce 
to the welfare of the prison. I had commenced the collection of 
facts, and had also opened statistical tables with this view, when a 
change in the political constitution of the Board of Inspectors of 
prisons occurred, thereby abruptly terminating my labors. 

If the services of a medical officer, in the full meaning of the 
term, is of importance to the physical and mental welfare of those 
individuals consigned by a wise and necessary legislation to serve a 
portion of their lives as a penalty for their crimes in this prison; 
and if the State is bound to protect them while under its charge from 
imbecile or dishonest officials, depending for their daily bread upon 
the smiles of party demagogues, as well as from the avarice of those 
seeking* wealth through human misery, then it is incumbent on the 
Legislature to render the physician independent of the present ap- 
pointing power. This officer should be appointed for a term of 
years, and held accountable by impeachment for dereliction of du- 
ty. He should be required to serve at least six hours daily, with 
time marked by the warden and required by the Inspectors to fulfil 
the whole intent and meaning of the law. Such a change in the 
medical department of this prison would require a selection equal to 
the responsibilities of the station, and would entitle him to compen- 
sation commensurate with the duties to be performed. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient serv't, 

BLANCHARD FOSGATE, M. D. 
Auburn, December 1, 1851. 



A P P END I I. 



1, CLINTON PRISON. 

2, AUBURN PRISON. 

3, SING SING PRISON. 



f uanmutuj 



CLINTON PRISON. 



COMMITTEE OF PRISON INVESTIGATION. 

" STATE OF NEW-YORK, } 

" In Assembly, April 17, 1851) 

" Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to examine into 
the fiscal affairs and general management and discipline of the Au- 
burn, Clinton and Sing Sing prisons, and said committee are hereby 
authorised to send for persons and papers, and shall have power to 
sit during the recess of the Legislature, and that such committee 
make report to the next Legislature within ten days after the session 
commences. 

" Ordered, That George Underwood, C. C. Severance, Alexander 
Graham, John H. Wooster and Geo E. Baker be such committee- 

"A true extract. 

"R. U. SHERMAN, 

" Clerk: 3 

Thursday, July 17, 1851. 

Dr. Darius Clark, one of the Inspectors of State Prisons and m 
charge of the Clinton Prison, was called and sworn. 

Question. By Mr. Underwood, chairman of the committee. Will 
you state the practice of the Inspectors in regard to visiting prisons 
jointly, on the part of the Inspectors since you have been one? 

Answer. Visited each prison quarterly, at such time as the chair- 
man designates. 

Q. Do you have meetings at each of the prisons at stated periods? 

A. We do not at stated periods in each quarter. It is left with 
the chairman to call them at such times in each quarter as he may 
desigsate. 



M [Assembly 

Q. What reports have you required from the agent, warden, and 
other officers, in relation to the government, discipline and police of 
this prison, and the punishment and employment of convicts therein 
confined? 

A., The first thing we require is the monthly account current of 
the agent, for the quarter, together with an exhibition of the proper 
vouchers for all expenditures; the hospital report of the physician, 
during each month; kitchen keeper's report, monthly, of rations du- 
ring the quarter; warden's monthly report of the convicts received 
and discharged; do. of the punishments inflicted; chaplain's report 
of the schools, and the manner in which he has discharged his 
duties. 

Q. Have these reports from the several officers in this prison 
been received during the past year? 

A. As a general thing, they have, but the warden exhibits his 
book of punishments, instead of a formal report monthly 

Q. How much time do the Inspectors usually spend at their joint 
meetings at each of the prisons? 

A. I am unable to state the precise number of days. We stay 
long enough to transact all the business that is deemed necessary in 
the general examination of the prisons, 

Q, Do the Inspectors keep regular minutes of the joint doings at 
their quarterly meetings? 

A. We do. 

Q. Have the Inspectors made general regulations for the govern- 
ment and discipline of each prison? 

A. They have. 

Q. Are all the orders, rules and regulations adopted by the in- 
spectors, and the entries of their proceedings at each joint meeting 
recorded by the clerk of each prison visited? 

A. They are. 

Q. Do you direct or prescribe the articles of food, and the quan- 
tities of each kind, which constitute a ration for each prisoner. 

A. We do, in conformity to the law on that subject. 

Q. How much time do you spend at the prison under your charge 
in each month. 

A. My minutes will show more correctly than I can answer. 
With one exception, caused by sickness, I have spent at least a 
week in each month at the prison under my charge. 

Q. Do you keep a monthly journal of your doings at the prison. 

A. I do. 
: Q. Are you interested, or have you been either directly or indirectly 
in any contract for the employment of the convict% or the supply of 



No. 20.] 95 

provisions, or the purchase of materials, id either of the prisons, 
since you have been an Inspector? 

A. I am not and have not been. 

Q. Has each agent and warden of the different prisons executed 
the bonds as jequired by law. 

.A. So far as relates to the Auburn and Cliuton prisons they have; 
but of the Sing Sing prison I cannot say of my own knowledge, but 
believe the agent gave a bond which has been approved and accept- 
ed by the chairman of the board of Inspectors. 

Q. What time was the bond of the Sing Sing prison accepted? 

A, I think between July and October of last \ear. 

Q, Have the separate cells required by the law of 1847 in sec- 
tions 44 and 45, been erected in this prison? 

A. One cell only has been prepared in this prison which will 
answer the requirements of the law, since I have beer! an Inspector. 
It is about from 12 to 20 feet square. 

Q. Have any convicts in this prison been confined in this cell. If 
so, for what cause? 

A. But one. John Thompson, who is perfectly incorrigible at 
times. I consider him at times morally insane. 

Q. Have you visited him from time to time when confined in this 
cell? 

A. I have. Has never been confined but once. 

Q. While so confined did you and the warden of the prison pre- 
scribe his fare, manner of treatment, and direct as to the period of 
his confinement? 

A. I did not direct as to the period of his confinement, but left it 
together with bis fare, with the warden, physician and chaplain. 
Talked over with them on several occasions the conduct of this pris- 
oner, with the view of determining whether he was a proper subject 
for the lunatic asylum or not. At times he is perfectly sane, and 
promptly and cheerfully performs his labor, and appears to take an 
interest in the affairs of the prison. At other times is perfectly un- 
manageable — reckless of life — threatening to take the lives of offi- 
cers and burning the prison. He was removed from Sing Sing to 
this prison at its organization, and was sentenced for burning a 
ohurch building, as I have understood. Although insane at times, 
he is not such a subject in my opinion as would be received at the 
lunatic asylum. He can be governed and cared for here as well as 
any where. 

Q. When did you enter upon the duties of your office? 

A. In January, 1850. 



96 [Assembly 

Q. To your knowledge have any blows been inflicted by any 
keeper on any prisoners confined in this prison? 

A. None. Last summer a convict complained that one of the keep- 
ers struck him; I investigated it and found the charge without foun- 
dation. 

Q. Have you received from any of the convicts confined in this 
prison complaints in relation to their rations, the quantity and qual- 
ity thereof: and if so, state when and what they were? 

A. I have received complaints from prisoners in this prison, but 
they are very few. It is a subject 1 enquire closely into at all the 
prisons. I have made more complaints myself in regard to their 
bread rations at this prison than the prisoners have, who, as a gen- 
eral thing have been satisfied. The last time I was here I sent for 
the person who furnishes the flour on contract. He came, and the 
result of the interview was, that he promised for the remainder of 
his contract, he would furnish flour from a different article of wheat; 
from winter instead of spring wheat. One cause for poor bread may 
be attributed to the want of an experienced baker in the prison 

Q. What method do you consider the best for furnishing rations 
to the prisons? 

A. I consider the old contract system the most liable to abuse of 
any that could be devised, and it has been abandoned. The practice 
of purchasing supplies by the agent I consider decidedly the best 

Q. What method of punishment for disobedient and refractory con- 
victs is adopted in this prison? 

A. The shower bath- — solitary confinement upon bread and water, 
and in a few instances the suspension of the privilege of writing 
to their friends, and the ball and chain. 

Q. W T hen were these different modes of punishment adopted in this 
prison? 

A. In 1847. 

Q. Have you received complaints from any of the convicts con- 
fined in this prison, or from the officers relative to the punishment of 
the shower bath? If so, state what they are and your opinion upon 
this mode of punishment. 

A. I have heard no complaints from prisoners in regard to the 
effects of the shower bath upon them in this prison. It is a subject 
which has frequently been talked about, between myself and the 
physician. I consider the keepers, as a general thing, very poor 
judges of the proper subjects for the shower bath. My own opinion 
is that some constitutions or temperaments will not admit of this 
treatment with impunity. 



No. 20.] 97 

Q. Who decides upon the propriety and extent of this punishment 
to be inflicted upon prisoners? 

A. The warden. 

Q, How many quarters have you had charge of this prison, since 
you came into office? 

A. I think every quarter — perhaps with one exception. 

Q. Has the general discipline and management of this prison, 
since you have had charge of it, been satisfactory to you? If not, 
state in what respect. 

A. It has not been as satisfactory as the discipline of the other 
prisons, from the fact that the occupation of the prisoners here will 
not admit of that rigid discipline maintained in the other prisons. 

Q. What kind of labor in your judgment, can the convicts of this 
prison be employed in most productively to the State, not inconsis- 
tent with existing laws? 

Committee adjourned, for one hour, to half-past 1. Committee 
met pursuant to adjournment. Present, Messrs. Underwood, Sever- 
ance, Graham, Baker and Wooster. 

Dr. Clark, the inspector, being still under examination proceeded 
to answer the question put previous to the adjournment for dinner. 

A. So far as the separation of ore alone is concerned, by the 
convicts, the prison can not be made to sustain itself. The contract 
system, as carried on in the other prisons, can not be pursued with 
advantage here, in consequence of its remote location from naviga- 
tion and business, which would prevent that competition for the 
labor of the convicts that exists in the other prisons, on account of 
the expense of transportation of the raw materials and the articles 
manufactured. In the manufacture of iron, I think the prison could 
compete successfully with any private establishment employed in the 
same business. It is located where the ore is abundant, and where 
the iron when made is wanted. Once established in the manufacture 
of iron, the prison could with a reasonable number of convicts, be 
made to sustain itself. 

Q. Is there any other subject in regard to the management, disci- 
pline or fiscal affairs of this prison which you wish to communicate 
to the committee? 

A, There are none. 

Q. Do you know of any convict being overworked in this prison? 

A. I do not. 

Isaac N. Comstock, warden and agent of this prison, was called 
and sworn. Has been agent and warden since a year ago last 
February ; the only book which I have kept is one in which pun- 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 7 



[As 



SEMBLY 



ishments are registered. Book produced and the following interro- 
gatories put by the chairman of the committee. 

Q. Does this book contain a memorandum of all the punishments 
inflicted upon the convicts during the period of your term of office, 
as agent and warden ? 

A. It does. 

Q. State the usual custom in regard to the punishment of convicts 
upon complaint coming to your knowledge of the ill conduct of any 
convict ? 

A. The several keepers are required to report in writing, every 
infraction of the rules of the prison by convicts under their charge. 
After such report, and a proper investigation of the case, I order 
such punishment as in my judgment the case demands, to be inflicted 
under the direction of the keeper making the complaint ; very often 
am present myself to witness the punishment, where showering is 
directed ; I know of no blows having been inflicted upon a convict 
since I have been in office. 

Q. What is your opinion of the propriety and effect of punishing 
convicts with showering 1 

A. So far as its effects upon the health of prisoners is concerned, 
I have never known it injure any one during my experience of two 
years as Inspector, and a year and a half as agent of the prisons * 
but on the contrary, it has in most cases been, beneficial to health. 
As to its propriety, it is the most dreaded and the most efficacious 
of any mode adopted in the prisons ; I know of no punishment bet- 
ter adapted to the reformation of convicts ; I have never known ice 
to be used in the water for showering ; the temperature of the water 
is that of the season, and is drawn from the reservoir of the prison. 

Q. What kind of labor, in your judgment, can convicts of this 
prison be employed in most productively to the State, not inconsis- 
tent with existing laws 1 

A. Put up the labor of the convicts by contract, as practiced in 
other prisons, in mechanical pursuits, with the exception of a suffi- 
cient number to separate ore, which would not require over 30 men ; 
have discussed the subject with Dr. Clarke, the Inspector, at differ- 
ent times. With the present number of men even under the contract 
system, this prison can not be made to sustain itself, for the reason 
that it costs as much to guard the prison with the present number 
of convicts as it would if it contained 1,000 ; no more officers would 
be required, aside from extra keepers, if there were one thousand 
convicts, than is now required. If it is intended to keep this prison 
here, and make it sustain itself, it will be necessary to keep a much 
arger number of prisoners, say from three to four hundred ; think 



No. 20.] 99 

some mechanical labor, which is now carried on in the other prisons 
could be prosecuted here as profitably as at either of the other prisons ; 
thinks employment of convicts in these branches would 'be more 
profitable to the State than to engage in the manufacture of iron ; 
requiring a good deal of night work which would be an obstacle to 
its introduction in the prison. 

Q. Which system of furnishing rations for the prisoners do you 
consider the most favorable for the State, the contract or the pur- 
chase by the agent 1 

A, Purchases by the agent. 

Q. Have you heard any complaint from the officers of the prison, 
or the convicts, in regard to the discharge of the duties of the phy- 
sician and chaplain ? 

A. I have not; physician makes monthly examinations of the 
provisions and the cells; the chaplain visits the cells every Sabbath, 
and frequently at other times; usually visits the hospital daily; the 
instructor or teacher has discharged his duties faithfully. 

Q. What is the present financial condition of the prison 1 

A. It is about $8,000 in debt. The $12,000 appropriation made 
by the late Legislature, has already been expended, of which over 
$10,000 since the first day of November last, was paid to the officers 
of the prison. Of the $8,000 appropriation made by the late Legis- 
lature, to pay part indebtedness, only about $2,500 can be realized, 
owing to the terms of the law making the appropriation, requiring 
it to be paid on indebtedness accruing prior to October last, which 
indebtedness I have mainly paid off by sales of ore, pending the 
passage of the bill. Until the Legislature meets and makes further 
appropriation, the prison will have no means of support except the 
proceeds of iron ore, of which there is about 12,000 tons on hand, 
valued at $3 per ton. Can separate 40 tons per day, if the demand 
would warrant it. There are forty hogs belonging to the prison, 
that can be made to average 225 lbs. dressed. About 60 acres of 
oats, barley and rye, 3 acres of corn, and about 8 acres of potatoes, 
which have been planted on shares — one-half after they are har- 
vested to belong to the prison. There is now being put in an acre 
and a half of turnips, and there are a sufficient quantity of vegetables 
for the use of the prison. Also, about three acres of white beans, 
There is now within the prison yard some 2,500 standard spruce 
logs, which will make some 500,000 feet of boards, with a mill 
nearly completed for the manufacture of the logs into lumber. The 
lumber will be worth at the prison some $8 per 1,000 feet board 
measure. 

Adjourned to 7 P. M., for the purpose of visiting the ore bed. 



100 [Assembly 

Committee met at 7, pursuant to adjournment. Present, Messrs. 
Underwood, Severance, Graham, Baker and Wooster. 

Dr. D. A. Raymond, physician to the prison, was called and 
sworn. 

Q. How long have you been physician of this prison ? 

A. Since a year ago the 16th of May last. 

Q. Do you make monthly examinations and reports in regard to 
the provisions or rations furnished to the convicts'? 

A. I do. I make almost daily examinations, and reject all pro- 
visions which I find unfit for the prisoners. 

Q. Do you examine the cells, and if so how often? 

A. I examine them weekly, and sometimes oftener. When I first 
came to the prison, I found the blankets too dirty, and had them 
washed. During the last spring I found they again needed washing 
and had them washed. The cells are whitewashed about every week, 
some of them oftener, and are kept in a good condition. Sees that 
the cells are properly ventilated and kept in a cleanly condition, 
with a suitable quantity of clothing. 

Q. Are any of the prisoners insane or idiotic? 

A. There is an idiotic convict here. Was taken into the hospital 
about six months ago. In the mean time has improved; been able 
to be about; and then again he would be clear down, and no one 
could get him out of his cell, except myself. His case was pro- 
duced by onanism, and there is no hope of his recovery. There is 
another case. A convict by the name of John Thompson, who is 
at times morally insane, which is supposed to result from a disease 
in the head. At times he is perfectly sane, at others ungovernable 
and insane. Do not consider him a fit subject for the Asylum. 
Can as well be treated here as any where. 

Q. Has the coroner ever examined into the cause of the death of 
any prisoner who has died in this prison, to your knowledge? 

A. He has not. No deaths have occurred in the prison since the 
first of October last. Rheumatism is the most troublesome disease, 
and diarrhoea the next, that we have to contend with among the pris- 
oners. 

Q. What is your opinion as to the shower bath punishment upon 
the health of prisoners? 

A. There are constitutions which will not admit of this punish- 
ment, and upon those it is not inflicted. 

Q. What effect does the raising of ore, as at present carried on 
at this prison, have upon the health of convicts? 

A, It has a less injurious effect upon convicts than the shop labor 



No. 20.] 101 

pursued at other prisons. The crushing of ore is injurious upon 
weak lungs, if kept at it too long at a time, from the constant dust 
in which they are surrounded. 

Q. Are there any other suggestions relative to the treatment of 
convicts, and the management of the prison which you would deem 
proper to make to the committee? 

A. I would suggest that the convicts be allowed to take their sup- 
pers la the dining hall, rather than eat them in their cells, as now 
practiced, as more conducive to the health of the convicts. I con- 
sider mush and molasses as a diet, productive of diarrhoea, and should 
be discontinued, and milk substituted for molasses. I have given 
this opinion to the inspectors and warden, often, and think a change 
will soon be effected. They have heretofore been prevented from 
substituting milk for the want of means to purchase cows. 

The committee adjourned to examine the books of accounts, and 
minutes of the proceedings of the Inspectors, and the report of the 
kepers, relative to punishments. 

Friday Morning, July 18, 1851. 

The committee met at 8 o'clock. Present, Messrs. Underwood, 
Severance, Graham, Baker and Wooster, and after examining the 
books, 

Resolved to adjourn without taking any more testimony at this time. 

Clinton Prison, October 29, 1851. 
Present, Chas. C. Severance and J. H. Wooster, of the committee. 
John L. Barnes called and sworn: 

Q. Are you agent and warden of the Clinton Prison, and from 
what time have you been such? 

A. I am, and have been from the 22d of July last. 
Qo What is the number of convicts in this prison, and how are 
they severally employed? 

A. The number at present is 112. They are under the charge of 
five keepers. The average number for the past season employed in 

mining and separating ore is 42, ------ — - 42 

Number employed in the tailor and shoe shop, is 10 

in the kitchen and wash room, is --- 8 

in the prison hall and barber shop, is - 7 

in the furnace and foundry, is 4 

in the two saw mills, is » - 16 

in sawing wood, gardening, and taking care 

of hogs, is - 4 

in blacksmith's business, is -•- 4 

in machine and carpenter shop, is 10 



102 [Assembly 

Number employed in tin and sheet iron business, is 1 

at the office and agent's house, is 2 

There are sick at the hospital, --- - 3 

And one hospital steward, - - --- 1 

Those convicts employed in the mining and separating of ore 
have been occasionally taken from their business and employed in 
farming and gathering in of crops. Several employed in the tailor's 
shop and in the prison hall, and some in other employments, are fee- 
ble and partially disabled men. 

Q. Can more convicts, in your judgment be employed to advan- 
tage in the mining and separating of ore? 

A. I think there can; and that the increase of ore separated by 
additional labor would be equal to the increase of convicts employed. 

Q. How many convicts may be profitably employed in the mining 
and separating of ore? 

A, 1 think eighty able bodied convicts might be profitably employed 
in that business; their labor to be divided as follows: thirty in the 
mines; sixteen in shovelling, raising and delivering ore to the sepa- 
rator; thirty at separating; two in removing separated ore, with one 
at the mines and one at the separator. 

Q. Is it possible to keep both branches, the mining and separa- 
ting of ore in operation at the same time with the present number 
of convicts employed in that business ? 

A. It is not. When the convicts are employed in mining we have 
to suspend the business of separating, and all the convicts are re- 
quired when engaged in separating. 

,£l. How many steam engines have you in the prison, and how are 
they employed ? 

A. We have five. One is used in raising ere at the mines, one 
in sepaiating, one at the machine shop, one at the old and one at the 
new saw mill. They are all in good condition. 

Q. How much lumber is your new saw mill capable of sawing as 
at present constructed, and how much when improved by the addi- 
tion of a new boiler as contemplated ? 

A. The mill will now saw about 400 pieces a day, and when im- 
proved it is estimated that it will saw 600 pieces and save about 
two-thirds the amount of wood now used, by enabling us to burn the 
slabs and saw dust. And these pieces are now being sold by "us at 
9J dollars per hundred in contract, 

Q. What will be the probable cost for the delivery of logs into 
the prison yard ? 

A. We can contract for their delivery at from fifty to fifty-six 



No. 20.] 103 

cents per standard log, estimated to make an average of eighteen 
pieces of lumber per log. 

Q. What number of convicts will it require to keep the saw mill 
in operation ? 

A. It will require about sixteen in and about the business of saw- 
ing, and the employment of one hired man as an overseer. 

Q. "What number of convicts does it require to carry on the ne- 
cessary business of the prison, over and above those required in the 
mining and separating of ore and the sawing of lumber ? 

A. It requires fifty able bodied convicts. 

Q. What proportion of convicts at the prison are able bodied 1 

A. About eight-tenths, or 80 to the 100. 

Q. What have been the average number of convicts at this prison 
for the three years last past ? 

A. By the minutes it appears that the number of convicts during 

the year ending Dec. 1848, averaged - 155 

On the 1st of December, 1849, there were — - 124 

On the 1st of December, 1850, there were 114 

By virtue of an act of the Legislature, passed in 1847, the In- 
spectors transferred in May, 1849, from this prison to the Auburn 
and Sing Sing prison 62 convicts. 

Q. Have the accounts of this prison been so kept as to enable 
you to ascertain the expense incurred during the past or any other 
year in the raising and separating of ore. 

A. They have not, and I am not prepared to furnish any estimate 
of such expense. 

Q. What have been the annual receipts of this prison frogp all 
sources other than State appropriations since its organization 1 State 
particularly. 

A. The following statement taken from the account books of the 
prison will show such receipts, as follows : 



104 [Assembly 



STATEMENT 

Of all monies, {other than State appropriations) received at Clinton 
State Prison, during each fiscal year, from the organization there- 
of, to Oct. 1. 185 J, and the source from whence the same was de- 
rived. 

1846. From sundries, $88 76 

1847. " ------- --- 61 23 

1848. " ..-.-.-...--- $753 23 

From State ore,-- ---- 262 49 

" convict's deposite, 93 

1,016 65 

1849. From sundries,-- -----------.-«- $140 77 

" machine shop and furnace,-- 191 18 

" visitors,----------------- 149 37 

" convicts' deposites,- ------- 55 54 

•" blacksmiths' shop,- -------- 57 39 

^ Averil! ore bed,----------- 8,616 72 

— 9,210 97 

1850. From sundries,--------- $131 27 

" machine shop and furnace,-- 15 18 

" visitors,----- — ----------- 124 00 

" convicts' deposite,---------- 39 08 

" blacksmiths' shop,-- -------- 110 36 

" Averill ore bed,---- -------- 12,119 12 

" interest,----------------- 62 94 

__ 12 } 601 95 

1851. From sundries,----------------- $1,181 36 

" machine shop,------------- 554 84 

" visitors,----------------- 107 75 

" convicts' deposite,---------- 17 83 

" Averill ore bed,---------- 10,495 32 

" interest,-----------—---- 7 00 

_ _ 12,364 10 



Total, -..-...»-.■- .- $35,343 66 



No. 20.] 105 

Q. What was the actual indebtedness of this prison on the 1st day 
of October instant ? Please state to whom and for what. 

A. I am not prepared to make the statement at this time, but will 
forward to the committee an answer as soon as the indebtedness can 
be ascertained. (See appendix marked A.) 

Q. What are the salaries of officers of this prison ? 

A. Agent's and warden's salary, $1,500 per annum, $1,500 00 

Clerk's salary, 800 " 800 00 

Chaplain's salary, 600 " 600 00 

Physician's " 500 " 500 00 

Instructor's " 150 " 150 00 

5 keepers' " 550 " each, 2,750 00 

24 guards at $30 per month each, ------ 8,640 00 

• — — 

Total amount of salaries per annum, « $14,940 00 



We are often required to pay for other services, not amounting, 
however, to any very large sum. 

Q. Can you furnish a statement of all appropriatione made by the 
State to the Clinton prison ? 

A. The following is a statement of all such appropriations : 

STATEMENT 

Of monies appropriated by the Legislature of the State of New- 
York, for the Clinton State Prison, from May 1, 1844 to June 

20, 1851, inclusive. 

1844. To appropriation per Chap. 245 of 

Laws of 1844, for pur- 
chasing steam engine, 
and testing the prac- 
ticability of manufactu- 
ring Iron, &c. $5,000 00 

Chap. 245 of Laws of 

1844, for the purpose 
carrying out the provi- 
sions of the act above. $30,000 00 

1845. Chap. 70 of Laws of 

1845, for support of 

prison, &c. -------- - 75,000 00 



4 arried forward, . — . — . — ---— $5,000 00 $105,000 00 



106 [Assembly 

Brought forward, - $5,000 00 $105,000 00 

1846. To appropriation per Chap. 324 of 

Laws of 1846, for sup- 
port of prison, &c.-- 50,000 00 

1847. " Chap. 45 of Laws of 

1847, for support of 

prison, &c. 25,000 00 

" " Chap. 248 of Laws of 

1847, for support of 

prison, &c. 20,000 00 

1848. " Chap. 317 of Laws of 

1848, for support of 

prison, &c. - - 25,000 00 

1849. " Chap. 280 of Laws of 

1849, for support of 

prison, &c. 39,000 00 

1850. " Chap. 306 of Laws of 

1850, for support of 

prison, &c. 20,000 00 

1851. " Chap. 259 of Laws of 

1851, for support of 

prison, &c. - - 12,000 00 

" " Chap. 259 of Laws of 

1851, for indebtedness 
incurred previous to 
October 1, 1851.---- 8,000 00 

$13,000 00 $296,000 00 

Summary. 
For appropriations for support of pris- 
ons, &c— „.----,--. $296,000 00 

For extra appropriations, - 13,000 00 

Total, -» - m $309,000,00 



No. 20.] 107 



STATEMENT A. 

Showing the indebtedness of Clinton Prison, on the first day oj 

October, 1851. 

Friend Humphrey, for leather, -------- $277 00 

James Henry, stationery,- - - - - 33 00 

Sheldons & Wood, merchandise, 100 9 1 

Grange Sard, clothing, &c- - 107 00 

E. L. Judson, pork, -- 250 00 

Cook & Wing, groceries, 366 40 

P. D. Orvis, medicines and oils, • 390 68 

Warren, Hart & Chesley, hardware, 630 00 

Northern Trans. Co., freightage, 100 00 

Nathan Lapham, flour, -- 600 00 

Nichols & Lynde, groceries, — « 50 00 

Pittsburgh, dock C, storage, &c. 100 00 

Hart well, Winslow & Herritt, iron,--- 95 00 

A. Spaulding, oats, - - - - - 35 93 

U. Ayers, oats, - - --- 23 38 

Levi Rodgers, oil, &c. -- 396 00 

Benj. Ketchum, grass seed, - - - - — — 13 38 

Belknap, McKercher & Campbell, coal,- - - 266 00 

A. Merrill, hay, - 64 00 

Jno. Simonds, beef, ----- -------- — 675 qq 

Bailey, Blake & Co., steel, 20 00 

Moses R. Wood, beans, ------ 16 00 

M. Lane, glass, ---- - 35 00 

W. P. Mooers, medicines, &c. 20 00 

F. T. Miller, tin, &c. - - 87 00 

Bromley & Jones, flour, ---- — 61 00 

Niles & Crosby, merchandise, &c. - 119 12 

Wm. Swetland, brick, 73 75 

Cook & W T ing, groceries, 298 62 

E. Corning, belting, &c. 100 00 

Wilson, Monteath & Co., molasses and oil, 250 00 

Henry Poor, merchandise, - - 208 00 

Keese fe^omlinson, flour, 150 00 

Smith, Craig & Mosely, cloth, &c. --- 75 00 

A. D. Barber, oats, - - 45 00 

N. P. Gregory, sattinetr, ----- - - 71 00 

Fitch & Cook, hardware,- ------- ------ - 500 00 



108 [Assembly 

Officers and guards of prison, services, ---------- - 3000 00 

Robinson, Pardy & Baker, beef, 295 00 

Lessors of Aver ill Mine, rent ore bed,------ — 2,000 00 



$11,998 77 



Clinton Prison, Dec. 4, 1851. 
Hon. Geo. UNbERwooD, 

Sir : Above we send you a statement of indebtedness of Clinton 
Prison, on the 1st day of October, 1851. 

J. L. BARNES, Agent and Warden. 

Memorandum of a few of the 'punishments inflicted in Clinton 

Prison. 

1849, Feb. 28. James SLavjn, locked, in cell and fed on bread 
and water four days, for being lazy and shiftless, and not doing suffi- 
cient work. A. Spencer, Keeper. 

1849, March 12. James H. Garden, locked in cell and fed on 
bread and water three days, for talking art table at noon. 

J. Forbes, Keeper, 

1819, March 20. John Thornton, locked in cell for fourteen 
days, for talking to a confined convict, and carrying to him bread 
and meat, and for insolent language to keeper, saying he would be 
damned if he would not talk to any one as much as he pleased, in 
spite of all the officers of the prison. John Forbes, Keeper, 

1849, March 20. Fisher Ames, Leonard Wheeler, each con- 
lined to his cell on bread and water, three days, for talking together 
at table. G. L. Sergeant, J3.ss% Keeper . 

1849, May 5. Abraham Caster, showered with ten pails of wa- 
ter, for insolence and. refusing to go to his cell when ordered. 

J. Forbes, Keeper. 

1849, May 25. Clark Earner, showered with thirteen pails of 
water, for leaving the ranks coming from the mines, and when told 
to walk close after coming into yard, he said he was not going to 
get his shoes full of water and mire again to-night, and continued 
walking as he was. A, Spencer, Keeper. 

1850, Feb. 13. John Butler, showered eight pails of water for 
leaving his place of work without license, and talking and laughing 
with the convicts. A. Macomber, Keeper. 

1850, Feb 13. Joshua Merrill, showered with e*ht pails of 
water, for leaving '."3 place . . ... p,>r l talking and 

laughing with the convicts. - ..,.,.,, Fit%ei ... ., *rfelve pails for 
using insolent language to his keeper. W. A. Bujumck. 



No. 20.] 109 

March 4, 1850. Joseph Williams, bread and water for refusing 
to work. Geo. Turbin, Keeper. 

March 16, 1850. John Pomier, for insolence to Torry, the guard, 
and profane language, showered. Macomber. 

March 5, 1850. Beman Wait, eight pails, for disobeying orders, 
language profane, used to another convict 

March 23, 1850. Beman W 7 ait, 3 pails, for disturbance in his 
cell. 

March 23, 1850. Put in dark cell, Beman Wait, for insolence to 
keeper, and put on 12ozs. of bread and water for 13 days. 

April 11, 1850. Beman Wait, showered with seventeen pails of 
water, for fighting with another convict. 

Jager Zingsting, showered sixteen pails; repeated for striking 
Torry. April 13, 1850. Macomber. 

April 17, 1850. Van Eps, showered seventeen pails of water and 
put an iron yoke on his neck, and shaved his head, for escaping 
from prison with Mortimer. Forbes. 

April 24, 1850. Benjamin Collins, for laughing and talking, 
four pails. J. Torrey. 

April 27, 1850. John Collins, disobedience to orders, eight pails 
of water. J. Torrey. 

May 3d, 1850. Beman Wait, for quarreling with Crawford, 
bread and water for five days. Lewis. 

Hiram Crawford — Bread and water, for quarrelling with Wait: 
May 3, 1850. Lewis. 

John Jackson=Smoking in cell, and lying about it and stealing, 
bread and water. Macomber. 

Wm. Halyard — Head shaved on one side, showered with eighteen 
pails, iron yoke on his neck, and ball and chain, for eloping from 
prison on the fifth instant : May 7, 1850. Macomber. 

John Jackson — Twenty-one pails, for neglect of work and not 
coming from his cell: May 13, 1850. Btjrdick. 

John Jackson — Twenty pails, for disobedience of orders: May 17, 
1850. Burdick. 

Frederick Johnson — Twelve pails, for talking and neglecting work: 
May 20, 1850. Burdick. 

Thos. O'Connell — Eight pails, for stealing salts from the hospi- 
tal: June 3, 1850. Burdick. 

John Thompson — Four pails, for attempting to stabBalch: June 
10, 1850. Macomber. 

Jas. O, Gates — Seven pails for lying, and disobedience of orders: 
July 19, 1850. Macomber. 



110 [AsSEMBLX 

George Fox — Eight pails, noise in cell: August 5, 1850. 

Burdick. 

C. Paw — Seven pails, disobeying orders: August 8, 1850. 

Pardee. 

Geo. Harnage — Three pails, refusing to work: August 13, 1850. 

Macomber. 

John Sager — Showered, taking tools from the machine shop: 20th 
August, 1850. Keeler. 

Jas. Foot — Showered, same as above: 20th August, 1850. 

Keeler. 

Jas. McDonald — Showered, insolent in finding fault with his clo- 
thing and telling me that I had been seeking an opportunity to pun- 
ish him for some time : Sept. 11, 1850. Macomber. 

Robert Monro — Showered, for having a pipe in his possession 
and telling a lie about it : Sept. 13, 1850. Reeler. 

Augt. Thorndike — Showered, for stealing potatoes and secreting 
them : Oct. 14, 1850. Torrey. 

Robert Monro — Showered, for throwing ore in Jas. Conner's face: 
Oct. 15, 1850. Kleler. 

James Conner — Showered, for striking Monro with a shovel: 
Oct. 15, 1850. Keeler, 

John Reynolds — Showered, three pails, for using insolent lan- 
guage in hospital: Oct. 15, 1850. Burdick. 

Nathaniel Peek — Locked up on bread and water, one day, for 
scuffling in the shoe-shop: Nov. 27, 1850. Macomber. 

Geo. Harnage — Locked up in his cell, do do Macomber. 

Win. Halyard — Ball and chain, for attempting to escape: Nov. 
27, 1850. Macomber. 

Crawford — Showered, for stealing mittens from another convict: 
Nov. 25, 1850. Keeler. 

Alonzo Reynolds — Fifteen pails, for refusing to work and using 
threatening language: Dec. 27, 1850. Burdick. 

John. J. Reynolds — Three pails, for smoking: Dec. 28, 1850. 

Keeler. 

Win. Kingsley — Showered, five pails, for singing in his cell: 
Feb. 7, 1850. Pardee. 

John Jackson — Noise in cell, seven pails: Feb. 7, 1851. 

Lewis. 

Jas. Brannan — Giving the physician the lie, disorderly conduct 
in hospital, locked in dungeon three days on bread and water. Feb. 
7, 1851. Burdick. 

A. Thorndike — Showered, getting intoxicated on alcohol and 
talking with other convicts: Feb. 12, 1851. Macomber. 



No. 20.] Ill 

Thomas Gage — 4 pails, getting intoxicated on alcohol and talking 
with other con wets: Feb. 12, 1851. Burdick. 

William Kingsley — Locked in cell twenty-four hours, bread and 
water, for noise in his cell: Feb. 18, 1851. Paedy. 

George Fox — In cell one day, bread and water, for do do: Feb. 
18, 1851. Farrei.l. 

George BaJpy — 14 pails, using threatening language to Mr. 
Davis: Feb. 19, 1851. Faerell. 

George Snyder — 12 pails, stealing alcohol and getting drunk: 
Feb. 12, 1851. Burdick. 

Thomas Clarke — Locked in dungeon one day, for quarrel in shoe 
shop with Peck: Feb. 26, 1851. Macomber. 

Nathaniel Peck — Do do with Clarke: Feb. 26, 1851. 

A. Macomber. 

Thomas O'Connell — 4 pails of water, for lying and stealing: 
March 15, 1851. Farrell. 

John Garland — Showered with five pails, for noise in his cell: 
March 17, 1851. J. B. Pardy. 

Joseph Thayer — 12 pails, for wasting and throwing away his 
food: March 28, 1851. Torrey. 

Wilhelm Frend — 3 pails, disobedience to keeper, and for insolent, 
talk: April 2, 1851. D. B. Shaw. 

Thomas McGuire — 9 pails, smoking in his cell: April 3, 1851. 

Macomber. 

Parkman Chapel — 3 pails, breaking out of ranks when marching, 
and dancing: April 5, 1851. Macomber. 

George Fox — 4 pails, whistling in his cell: April 14, 1851. 

C. Cadv. 

John Garland — 2 pails, for smoking: April 16, 1851. 

Torrey. 

Lewis Wente — 7 pails, giving a convict a pipe and then denying 
it: April 16, 1851. Torrey. 

A. F. Woolsey — In dungeon, on bread and water, two days, for 
wilfully breaking his hammer handle: April 21, 1851. Torrey. 

Sylvester Bunker — 5 pails, saucy to his keeper, and spitting to- 
bacco on whitewash in his cell: May 6, 1851. Torrey. 

Joseph Thayer — 15 pails, violating rules by going into black- 
smith shop without license, and for disorderly conduct while in there: 
May 14, 1851. Toerey. 

W. Halyard — Insolence to Capt. Burdick^ showered: June 25, 
1851. Lewis. 

James Alons — '5 pails, for disobeying orders: June 27, 1851. 

Torrey. 



112 [Assembly 

Charles R. Devel — 4 pails, refusing to work: July 3, 1851. 

C. Cady. 
James Hamilton — 6 pails, singing in his cell: July 14, 1851. 

Torrey. 
James Alons — 2 pails, singing and noise in cell: July 14, 1851. 

Torrey. 
David Thompson — 5 pails, lying and making unnecessary noise: 
July 14, 1851. Torrey. 

Thomas O'Connell — 2 pails, do do do. 



AUBURN PRISON. 



Sept 15, 1851. 

William P. Angel sworn, and being interrogated, answered as 
follows: 

Q. Have you visited jointly with the other Inspectors, each of the 
prisons in this State since your term of office commenced? 

A. I have. 

Q. How often? 

A. I visited them all with them in January last, except Clinton. 
I visited them all with them in April and in July. 

Explanation. I was informed by Dr. Clark that the board would 
probably meet in Auburn the first of January; receiving no other no- 
tice of the meeting at the time, I came to Auburn, but did not find 
the other Inspectors there, and then went to Albany. I there ascer- 
tained that Mr. Wells had notified the meeting in Auburn for the 
15th January; before leaving home I had made my business arrange- 
ments for the meeting on the first of January, but was compelled to 
return by the last of that month. I was excused by the other mem- 
bers of the board. 

Q. Of which prison have you had charge since your term of office 
commenced? 

A. I have had charge of the Auburn Prison for each quarter to 
the present time. 

Q. How often have you visited said prison? 

A. I have been to said prison once in each month. 

Q. How long were you accustomed to remain at each visit? 

A. I remained the necessary length of time to transact the neces- 
sary business; the exact number of days I cannot state. I examined 
the whole prison at each visit. I think I have occupied more than 
a week in each month on prison business, though I may not have re- 
mained at the prison an entire week at each visit. 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 8 



114 [Assembly 

Q. What record did you keep of your doings at the prison during 
your monthly visits? 

A. I made such records or memorandums as I deemed of import- 
ance, and made a particular record of all business transactions; and 
the book of records here presented contains a record of my transac- 
tions. 

Q. What reports did you require of the officers of the prison, if 
any? 

A. I have required the usual monthly report of the agent, showing 
the financial condition of the prison. Also, an exhibition of the re- 
cord kept by the warden, of the punishments inflicted by him, which 
is taken as his report. I have also examined the reports of the war- 
den, of the convicts received in the prison during the month; also 
of the physician, made by him each month; also of the chaplain, 
made once in three months. 

Q. Were you accustomed to examine the records of the warden in 
regard to punishments? 

A. I was. 

Q. Did you discover in the reports of the warden any record of 
unusual punishment inflicted upon convicts? 

A. I did not, except in one or two cases, where the punishment 
was inflic^d with severity for an outrageous offence. 

Q. What cases do you now refer to? 

A. I refer to the case of a convict by the name of Alexander Por- 
tague, who assaulted keeper Van Pelt with a cane, and would pro- 
bably have killed him as I learned, but from the timely interference 
of the other convicts; also to the same person in another instance, 
who made an assault upon another convict with a sharp knife, and 
attempted, as I learned, to stab him. 

Q. Was you accustomed to be particular in regard to your inqui- 
ries regarding punishments? . 

A. I was. 

Q. Did you discover during these inquiries any case of unreasona- 
ble punishment of a convict by a keeper? 

A. I was satisfied with the punishment in every case that I exam- 
ined into. 

Q. Did you in making these inquiries, confer with the convicts 
punished? 

A. I did not. 

Q. Did you confer with the keepers only? 

A. I conferred with keeper and warden. 

Q. Have you at any time received any complaints from any con- 
vict of unreasonable and severe punishmen? 



No. 20.] 115 

A. I have not. 

Q. Have you given convicts an opportunity to confer with you 
during your monthly visits? 

A. I have, both in cells, shops and in private, when desired. 

Q. Have you at any time received any complaints from any con- 
victs in regard to their food? 

A. I have. In the months of May and June I heard complaints 
from convicts and others, that the mush ration affected a portion of 
them injuriously. I visited the convicts themselves, and attended at 
the hospital at the morning examination for several mornings in 
succession. I immediately gave the warden directions to supply 
bread rations instead of mush, to such of the convicts as could not 
eat the latter, or whom it affected injuriously. This was in vacation, 
and at a subsequent meeting of the board, a resolution was adopted 
approving of my directions, and making it a permanent regulation 
of the prison. Since that time I have heard no complaints whatever 
in regard to food. 

Q. What directions have you given the keeper in the kitchen in 
relation to the supply rations? 

A. We have directed him to examine all the provisions carefully 
when they are brought in, and again when they are prepared for 
use, and to reject every thing that is not perfectly sound and whole- 
some, and I am quite sure that the regulation has been rigidly carried 
out. 

Q. In what manner are these rations furnished? 

A. They are furnished by the agent, and under his inspection and 
supervision, by the money of the State, and are not furnished by 
contract. 

Q. Have you at any time received or heard of any complaints 
from convicts in regard to insufficiency of bedding or clothing? 

A. I have not, except in a few instances where men have com- 
plained of rheumatic affections, and desired to be supplied with 
socks or woolen clothing. In such cases I have referred them to 
the physician, with directions to him to furnish them if necessary. 

Q. Have you at any time received or heard of any complaints 
from convicts or others, that the convicts were overtasked in any 
instance, or have been required to work out of the usual hours of 
labor in said prison? 

A. One convict, John Allen, complained to me that he was re- 
quired to do too much labor. He was working in the shoe shop. 
I examined into that case personally, and satisfied myself that the 
complaint was not well founded. I have heard of no other com- 
plaint of a similar kind. In one or two instances I have heard of 



116 [Assembly 

convicts doing labor out of prison hours; they have not been required 
to do it, but have preferred to do it rather than remain in their cells. 
As this practice is liable to abuse, I have ordered it to be discon- 
tinued. 

Q. Have there been any cases of insanity in the hospital since 
July 1st, 1851? 

A. There have been several, 

Q. Were any of these cases induced by severe punishment? 

A. I think not. 

Q. Have the large cells, required by chap. 460, title 2, art. 1, 
section 44 of Laws of 1847, been erected in the prison at Auburn? 

A. I am not able to say, as no man has been confined in such 
cells, and my attention has not been called to the subject. 

Q. By whose order are the punishments prescribed generally? 

A. They are under the control of the Inspectors. 

Q. Are the instructors named in the act of 1847 at present em- 
ployed, and have they been so since January, 1851. 

A. They are, and have been since that time. 

Charles W. Pomeroy sworn, and being interrogated, answered as 
follows: 

Q. Are you the agent of the state prison at Auburn? 

1 am. 

Q. How long have you been agent? 

A. Since the first day of April last. 

Q. Have you since you have been agent made any contracts for the 
employment of convicts? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Are you able to defray the expenses of the prison from the la- 
bor of convicts? 

A. I am, the ordinary expenses. 

Q. What do you mean by ordinary expenses? 

A. I mean provisions, bedding and clothing of convicts, salary of 
officers, hospital stores, and the common ordinary repairs. 

Q. What do you suppose to be the present fiscal condition of the 
prison? 

A. I am unable to answer. 

Q. What was it on the first day of April last? 

A. It was owing about $11,000. 

Q. W T hat available means was on hand to pay said debt? 

A. Not any. 

Q. Do the contractors make prompt payment for labor? 

A. They do. I have had no difficulty thus far in that respect. 



No. 20.] 117 

Q. Are there any debts now due the prison? 

A. None, except the current debts. 

Q. Are there any suspended debts? 

A. None, that have come to my knowledge. 

Q. Are there any unsettled demands or claims of contractors 
against the prison, arising from convict labor under contracts? 

A. There are. 

Q. What are they? 

A. They are as follows: Jeremiah Barber claims $582.86, for 
short work, during the months of May, June, July and August, in- 
cluding an account for yarn which he says has been wasted by con- 
victs — who has retained this amount from what he should have paid 
for the services of the convicts under his contract — and other claims 
of a previous date. 

Q. How many and what kind of men does Mr. Barber's contract 
call for, and in what employment to be engaged, and at what prices? 

A. Not to exceed 350 men, capable and able bodied men, in the 
business of manufacturing carpets and rugs ; not exceeding one-fourth 
of which number who may be infirm, &c, are half-price men, when 
engaged in his business. The able bodied men earn 38 cents per 
day, the winders, &c, earn one-half that price per day. 

Q. Are there any half-price men, and if so how many are engaged 
in weaving? 

A. There are. 

Q. Have you and Mr. Barber agreed that a day's labor of able 
bodied convicts shall be four yards per day of Brussels carpeting, or 
16 yards of Venetian, or 9 yards of ingrained, or 6 yards of three-ply 
carpeting? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Does he claim that as a day's work under his contract from able 
bodied men? 

A. Yes — I so understand it. 

Q. Does he claim a deduction when able bodied men do not 
weave that number of yards per day? 

A. He does. 

Q. In your judgment, observation and information, can able bodied 
men on an average perform this amount of labor claimed by Mr. 
Barber? 

A. I don't think the majority of able bodied convicts can do it, 
it is more than an average day's work for a convict. 

Q. Are there any half-price men on the shoe consract? 
. A. There are. 

Q. How many? 



118 [ASSEMELY 

A. Thirty-four. 

Q, Are there half-pay men on every contract in the prison. 
A. There are, more or less. 

Q. Are there any able bodied convicts capable of performing* a 
full day's work, on any contract, on which they now work, charged 
as half-price men? 

A. None, to my knowledge. 

Q. You said there were half-pay men, more or less on every con- 
tract in the prison. Please explain why these men are called and 
charged as half-pay men? 

A. Because, from physical inability, they are not able to perform 
a full day's work. 

Q. Who is the judge of the fact, whether a man is to be a half- 
pay-man or not, and how and by whom is it determined? 

A. The determination is made by the agent, after investigating 
the case, and by no other person. 

Q. Where a convict is fixed by year as a half-pay man, is he so 
reckoned on the contract while he continues thereon? 

A. He remains as a half-pay man until he can earn more, in the 
opinion of the keeper having him in charge, who is required by me 
to charge the man as a three- fourth or full day man as soon as he 
can do it. 

Q. How many cases are there to your knowledge where a convict 
has been fixed at half-pay by year, that the deputy keeper has after- 
wards reported to you that such convict could earn more than half- 
pay and had received his pay accordingly? 

A. I should think there had been a dozen cases since April 1, 
1851. 

Q Are there any cases to your knowledge since you have been 
agent, where full pay convicts have been charged at a less price than 
for a full day's labor? 

A. I should think, after investigation of the cases by me, not to 
exceed half-dozen men had been reduced. 

Q. Is there any contract on which the price of a full day's labor 
of an able bodied convict is charged at different prices; and if so, 
specify what contract and the prices paid, and the number of men 
for which the different prices are paid? 

A. One contract only, the shoe contract, except where it is provi- 
ded by the contract itself. On this (shoe) contract are 9 men at 65J 
cents per day; these were on the original contract, and at this prison 
when the contract was made; and 4 men removed from Sing Sing 
prion, at 50 cents, and 3 men also from Sing Sing at half pay; also 
one disabled, and works occasionally. 



No. 20.] 119 

Q. Why do you charge the contractor these different prices for the 
labor of these convicts? 

A. The first number at 65J cents per day, were let by the agent 
of the Auburn Prison. The second number, at 50 cents per day, 
were sent to this prison from Sing Sing, are charged at that price for 
the reason that my predecessor charged them at that price; and from 
intimations I received from the president of the board of directors, 
Mr. Wells, at a meeting of the board, who told me that they were 
let by Mr. Comstock the Inspector then in charge of this prison, to 
Mr. Ross, the contractor. The president of the board also stated 
that they were a very hard class of convicts, and disabled, earning 
nothing at Sing Sing, and he considered it good economy for the 
State to get rid of them at that price. These statements being made 
before the board, and the other members not dissenting, I considered 
myself justified in charging these men at 50 cents per day, and have 
done so since I have been agent of the prison. 

Q. Do the convicts charged at 50 cents per day do as much labor 
as those charged at 65J cents per day. 

A. They do. 

September 16, 1851. 

Q. At what price are shop waiters, working on contracts, charged 
by you? 

A. All that are charged, are charged at half price per day, for the 
reason that one-half of their time is regarded as occupied by the 
State; but on some of the contracts shop waiters are not charged at 
any price, because by the terms of such contracts they are to be fur- 
nished free of charge. 

Q. How many full pay men, and half pay men are there on each 
contract; specify particularly? 

A. On the Shoe contract, 

9 men at 65| cents per day. 

4 " 50 " " 

31 " half pay, at 65| cents per day. 
3 " " " 50 " " 

5 invalids. 

Cooper contract, 
10 men at 61^ cents per day, full pay. 

7 " three-fourths day each. 
12 " one-half 

1 man at 30 cents per day as helper, per contract. 



120 [Assembly 

Hame contract, 
31 men at full pay. 
20 " one-half pay. 
2 " one-fourth " 
1 man, waiter. 

Cabinet contract, 
36 men at full pay. 
7 " one-half pay. 
1 invalid. 
1 waiter. 

Tool contract, 
40 men at full pay. 
2, " three-fourths pay. 
15 " one-half 
1 man at one-fourth " 
1 waiter. 

Machine contract, 
34 men at full pay, at 46 cents. 

1 man " one-half " " " 
11 men " full " 40 " 

2 " " one-half " " " 
Carpet contract, 

219 full pay at 38 cents. 

6 three-fourths pay at 38 cents. 
23 one-fourth " " 

70 full pay at 19 cents, per contract. 
Q. How many men are in the employ of the State, and where 
employed, and how? 
A. They are as follows: 
Machine Shop, 

Engineers, 1 

Cabinet Shop. 

Waiter, (one arm man,) 1 

Invalid, (superannuated,) - - 1 

" not charged by the terms of contract, - 1 

Shoe Shop. 

State shoe makers, 11 

State Tailor Shop. 

Tailors, 12 

Weavers, (convict cloth,) - - - 3 

W T inder,- - - 1 

Barbers, (for convicts,) ............'.•.........- 2 



No. 20.] 121 

Dry room, 1 

Stocking weavers, 2 

Cooper Shop. 

Waiter, (no charge as per contract,) 1 

State Shop and Yard. 

Invalids, * - 19 

Laborers, 27 

Rug Shop. 

Invalid, (superannuated,) 1 

Lower Weave Shop. 

Invalid, - - - 1 

Kitchen and Dining Hall. 

Cooks, 2 

Bakers, - 2 

Dining hall, 5 

Dish washers, --- 2 

Barber, - — 1 

Hall waiter, 1 

Bell waiter, - 1 

Cripple, (minus one hg and one arm,) ■= 1 

Sick, 2 

Cellar man, 1 

Hospital and Wings. 

Sick, crazy, &c, not on contracts, 8 

Helpers, - 3 

Wing men, a portion of which are invalids, 12 

Wash house, - - 4 

Whole number, 139 

Q. How many convicts are there in the Auburn prison at the pre- 
sent time? 

A. Seven hundred and thirty-nine this day, Sept. 16, 1851. 

Q. Have you heard any complaints of the convicts or others in 
their behalf, in regard to their food, clothing or bedding? 

A. I think, since the first of April, I have heard complaints on 
two or three occasions, not to exceed three; that some of the men 
from the cooper shop and dye shop had not sufficient food for dinner. 
I have heard no complaint in regard to clothing:. In regard to bed- 
ding, after warm weather commenced, there came on a cold night, 
and one of the contractors said some of his men who lodged on the 
basement, complained to him that they slept cold for two or three 
nights previous to that time. 



122 [Assembly 

Q. What heed did you give to these complaints, and how soon 
after they were made to you? 

A, In regard to bedding, the defect was remedied the same day 
the complaint was made, and since that time I have heard no further 
complaints. Since the commencement of my term of office, I have 
purchased additional bedding, and have given particular attention to 
the bedding; that the quantity cf bedding is now sufficient and 
clean, and that every cell has been renovated and the bedding wash- 
ed and cleaned. In regard to food, the remedy was made immedi- 
ately. In one case I found that the complaint was unfounded, as 
the convict had thrown his meat under the table. I have never 
heard of any complaints in regard to clothing. 

.Q. Do you personally purchase the provisions for the convicts? 

A. I do; and have done so in every case since I have been 
agent. 

Q. In what quantities are such purchases usually made? 

A. I purchase bread stuffs and meat in large quantities. 

Q. Do you purchase for cash or on credit? 

A. Always for cash when I have it on hand. 

Q. What proportion of the purchases of the above supplies are 
for cash and what on credit? 

A. Since I came here I should think one-half of the above sup- 
plies were purchased on credit; the credit has, in all cases, been 
short. 

Q. Do you suppose these purchases have been made by you upon 
as favorable terms to the State, as if they had been made for cash? 

A. I know they have been; I bought them at the same prices as 
if I had paid cash. 

Q. Of what quality are these provisions ? 

A. The pork is a good merchantable quality of prime and mess 
pork, J about was mess. The mess pork was as good as any I ever 
saw ; the prime was of a first rate quality. 

All the bread that has been made in the prison since I have been 
here was made from wheat I bought and had ground, except about 
a 30 days' supply of flour which I purchased of common brand, 
which made excellent bread. 

The corn used in bread is of the very best quality. The bread 
which has been used in the prison is as good as that now in the 
kitchen, and which you are invited to examine. 

The bread is made from corn and unbolted wheat. 

Q. Are you in the habit daily of visiting the kitchen, and per- 
sonally inspecting the provisions purchased by you, and prepared for 



No. 20.] 123 

the convicts, so as to know that they are of the quality required by 
law to be furnished to convicts ? 

A. I am, every day, and some days \ dozen times. 

Q. Do you know that there has been any unwholesome food cooked 
for the convicts, or furnished to them since your term of office com- 
menced 1 

A. I have no knowledge that there ever has been any, and my in- 
structions are imperative to the officer receiving the meat to take 
nothing but what is sound, of good quality and wholesome, also to 
cook nothing but what is sound, of good quality and wholesome. 

Q. Are the rations usually furnished to convicts as good as those 
shown to the committee this day ? 

A. They have been all the time since I have been agent. 

Q. Have you rejected any provisions brought to this prison upon 
your purchases, on account of their poor quality and unwholesome- 
ness ? 

A. I have frequently ; and it is always done in every case when 
detected. The meat before cooking is critically examined. 

Q. Are there accommodations or cells in this prison sufficient for 
the number of convicts now here ? 

A. There are. 

Q How many cells are there in this prison ? 

A. 770. 

Q. What is the greatest number of convicts you have had in the 
prison since you have been in charge ? 

A. I think on April 1, 1851, there were 794. 

Q. How do you lodge the number over the number of cells, when 
you have them % 

A. In the hospital. 

Q. Are there any arrangements now in progress in this prison to 
enlarge the number of cells % 

A. I don't know that there are any arrangements in progress, but 
they a>e in contemplation. 

Q. Are there any arrangements now in progress in this prison to 
change the location of the mess room, hospital, chapel and kitchen? 

A. There are. 

Q. Where are the present mess room, hospital, chapel and kitchen 
located ? 

A. The chapel, hospital and mess room are located in the eastern 
part of the south wing, mess room in the basement, chapel in the 
second story, and hospital in the third story or attic. The kitchen 
is contiguous to the mess room, and immediately under the keeper's 
hall, which is located in the main building of the prison. 



124 [Assembly 

Q. Is the mess room of sufficient size to accommodate the convicts 
of the prison ? 

A. It is not, and has not been for many years. 
Q. Why ? 

A. The room allowed to each convict at table is 18 inches, or 25 
per cent less than at the mess room at Sing Sing. They are very 
much crowded and uncomfortable, and at times we have to put tables 
in the hall leading from the outer door to the mess room, and fre- 
quently those who cannot be accommodated in the mess, are accom- 
modated in the kitchen, which is already too small for the purposes 
of cooking and baking. 

Q. Is the chapel large enough for the number of convicts who 
were here April 1, 1851? 

A. It is not. 

Q. What number of convicts will the chapel conveniently and 
comfortably accommodate? 

A. I should think not to exceed 550. 

Q. What is your opinion in regard to the convenience and local- 
ity of the present hospital? 

A. In the first place, it is very inconvenient, from the fact, that 
sick convicts have to ascend three pairs of stairs to get to it. It is 
illy ventilated, and too low, it being about ten feet from floor to 
ceiling, with no ventilation except from the doors and windows. 

Q. Is the mess room at times damp or ill ventilated? 

A. It is. It is a basement room, partially underground, and only 
ventilated by the side windows and doors, and about ten feet from 
floor to ceiling. It is damp from its being contiguous to the kitchen, 
where water is continually flowing in the sewers on the floor of the 
kitchen. The floors of the mess room and kitchen are of stone, and 
the tw ? o rooms are practically one room. 

Q. Can the present kitchen, mess room, chapel and hospital, or 
either of them, as now situated, be enlarged to a convenient size 
without taking down cells? 

A. They cannot. 

Q. What are the arrangements you allude to in regard to a change 
n the location of the kitchen, chapel, mess room and hospital. 

A. I allude to the building now in progress in the centre yard of 
the prison. 

Q. Describe this building and its contemplated arrangements. 

A. It is a building 220 feet in length, 60 feet wide, two stories 
high, the first story intended for a kitchen and mess room, to be 14 
feet in heighth in the clear; the second story intended for hospital 



No. 20.] 125 

and chapel, which are to be divided by a stone wall; is to be 20 
feet in heighth, at the sides, and arched so as to be 26 feet high in 
the centre of the ceiling; said rooms to be ventilated from the cen- 
tre of the ceiling, and also by flues in the side walls, and the hospi- 
tal connected with the wings of the prison by means of a covered 
bridge, so that sick convicts can be taken from their cells in any 
part of the prison during the night or stormy weather, without ex- 
posure, and with safety. 

Q. Are you now erecting such building? 

A. I am. 

Q. By whose directions? 

A. By a resolution of the Board of Inspectors, passed at their 
last meeting. 

Q. Has the necessity of such a building been a matter of dis- 
cussion among the Inspectors and officers previous to your term of 
office? 

A. It has. 

Q. When was the construction of the building commenced? 

A. About four weeks since. 

Q. By whom were the contracts entered into in regard to its con- 
struction? 

A. The contracts were entered into by and between Benjamin 
Ashby, late agent, and William H. and F. Kelsey, for from 400,000 
to 600,000 brick, to be delivered in prison, and between the same 
person as agent, and Douglass and Billings for doing the mason 
work, and between the same person as agent, and William H. Van 
Tuyle, for doing the carpenter and joiner work, and furnishing all 
materials for the same. 

Q. Are these contracts now remaining in full force ? 

A. They are. 

Q. Has there been any change in the location of the building, or 
the materials for its construction, from the plan adopted when the 
contracts were made, and if so what changes, and when were they 
made? 

A. Yes. The first location of the building was immediately in 
the rear of the keepers' hall, it was changed immediately west 250 
feet about. 

The materials to be used according to the first plan, were brick, 
for which a contract was made. It has since been changed by a 
resolution of the Board of Inspectors to stone. 

The changes in location and materials were made in July last, I think. 



126 [Assembly 

Q. Have there been other contracts made, consequent upon the 
change made by the Inspectors as to the materials of the building. 

A. There has been one contract for stone. 

Q. What directions have you received in regard to the brick con- 
tracted for with Kelsey's. 

A. I was directed by the Inspectors to sell the brick, if I could not 
settle with the contractors for brick, and have the State released 
from the contract. 

Q. Had there been any plans and estimates made of the cost of 
this building when you came into office, and if so, what was the es- 
timated cost? 

A. There had, and the estimate of the building was $16,000. 

Q. Are there plans and estimates in regard to the present build- 
ing, and if so, what are they? 

A. There have been new plans made or new estimates; and it 
is estimated that the present building will not cost more by the 
change of location and materials than the sum of $16,000. 

Q. Is there any time fixed by contract for the completion of this 
building? 

A. There is none, but it is to be prosecuted with all reasonable 
dispatch. 

Q. When do you intend to have this building completed? 

A. By August, 1852. 

Q. Is it expected that the expenses of the prison for the current 
year will pay the expense of this building? 

A. I have no such expectation. 

Q. On the 30th of September last, the then agent stated the total 
indebtedness to be $4,600, and on the 1st December following, that 
a large portion of this debt had been paid, and in his opinion it 
would all be paid by the 1st of March, 1851, yet you now inform us 
that the indebtedness on the 1st of April was $11,000. Please ex- 
plain how this debt arose, and the cause of its exceeding the late 
agent's estimate. 

A. The following is a statement of the indebtedness of the prison 
on the first day of April, 1851, which is all the explanation I can 
make. 



No. 20.] 127 



STATEMENT 
Of indebtedness of the Auburn Prison, April 1, 1851. 

To Smith & Farnum, balance of acct, $5 09 

Derby & Miller, prayer books, &c, 41 19 

Horace G. Van Anden, drugs, &c, 5 50 

Wm. Buckhout, fulling cloth,--- 31 25 

Douglass & Billings, building, 757 12 

John H. Chedell & Co., camphine, 91 44 

Lathrop & Luddington, ticking, &c, 165 95 

H. Woodruff, store acct, 91 87 

Geo. Sherwood, clothing, 233 94 

P. G. Clark, counsel fees, 366 30 

F. L. Griswold& Co., clothing, 9 70 

Knapp & Peck, printing, 53 50 

Auburn Gas Light Co., gas,- 119 00 

David Fries, brick,--- 140 00 

" wood,---- 75 00 

Pratt & Fay, acct, 2S6 33 

John I. Wilson, wood, -- 87 00 

James C. Reed, " 100 00 

Nelson Chapin, " 100 00 

Quick, " 10 00 

Pond, wheat, - 800 00 

H. H. Cooley, judgment against State, 309 39 

Quick & Hall, grocery acct., 106 37 

Lester & Bradley, suspenders, buttons, brooms, &c.,- 143 88 

I. & G. Clapp, carriage acct , 173 90 

I. Patty & Son, leather, 423 60 

Saul Taylor, wool, 128 88 

Aaron Hayden, wood, 15 1 50 

Wm. Stevens, horse shoeing, &c, 13 14 

H. T. Dickinson, beef, 206 85 

Orange Chapin, wood, 148 50 

C. T. Ferris, store acct., hardware, &c, 119 46 

Wm. Hills, & Co., wheat, 117 18 

Beardsley, Keeler & Curtis, acct., machine repairs, &c, 314 60 

S. Wilkes, storage acct., 10 00 

H. W. Lyon, wood, 39 75 

Carried forward, - $ 



128 < [Assembly 

Brought forward, $ 

John E. Patten, beef. 47 73 

E. C. & T. WithereJ, wood, Ill 00 

E. T. Frisbie, " 603 00 

James Fries, " 119 63 

Daniel Goodwin, manure, - 5 37 

H. T. Cook, affidavits,---- 3 00 

E. Wilcox, beef, 9 72 

G. Pinkney, wood, 101 66 

H. S. Dunning, wheat, 210 55 

Wm. H. Van Tuyl, building,--- --- 7,301 99 

C. Coventry, tobacco, 113 63 

Hunt & Osborn, drugs, medicines, &c, 399 43 

H. H. Cooley & Co., suspenders, buttons, &c, 104 38 

$15,108 37 
Less, M. Ashby's balance on hand, 3,638 35 



$11,470 02 



Q. Has the actual indebtedness of this prison been ascertained at 
any time since the first day of April, 1851? 

A. It has not. 

Q. Do you know whether it has been the practice of former 
agents to ascertain at stated periods its actual indebtedness? 

A. I do not know of any; but I keep my accounts so that I can 
show the actual indebtedness of the prison at any time. 

Q. Is any officer of this prison in any way interested in any of 
the existing prison contracts, to your knowledge? 

A. Not to my knowledge. 

Q. Do any of the convicts receive pay for over work? 

A. Not now to my knowledge, and I have no reason to suppose 
that any thing of the kind is going on. It is strictly prohibited by 
a resolution of the Inspectors. 

Q. Are there in this prison any separate rooms or cells of the 
dimensions specified in section 41 of chap. 460 of the Laws of 1847, 
for the confinement of such convicts as are found to be incorrigibly 
disobedient? 

A. There are none. 

Q. Which in your opinion is the most severe system of punish- 
ment, the shower bath or the cat? 

A. The shower bath. 



No. 20] 129 

Q. Please give your reasons for this opinion? 

A. The abuse of the shower bath, in improper hands, is more 
injurious than an abuse of the cat. The bath is more likely to in- 
jure the health of a convict than the cat. Have no doubt but that 
the minds of convicts have been impaired, and in some cases ruined 
by the bath. I have no objection to a proper use of the bath. 

A. Under which system of punishment has the discipline of this 
prison been the best? 

A. The highest state of disipline that I have ever known in this 
prison was when the cat was used for punishment. 

Q. Are there any convicts now in prison who have been injured 
by the shower bath? 

A. There is one whose mind has been impaired, as I have been 
informed. I think the name of the convict is Williams, also another 
man, who was discharged in June last, who is now in Montgomery 
county jail, Ira Little by name. 

Q. How is it intended to increase the number of cells in the 
prison? 

A. By occupying the room now used for the mess room, hospital 
aud chapel. 

Q, What is your trade or profession? 

A. A builder, and have been so engaged for twenty-five years 
last past. 

Q. In your judgment is the arrangement for the new building and 
new cells a good one, and advisable for the interests of this State as 
connected with this prison? 

A. I think it is. 

William Sunderlin, sworn, and being interrogated answered as 
follows : 

Q. Are you the warden of the State Prison at Auburn? 

A. I am. 

Q. How long have you been such warden? 

A. Since April 1, 1851. 

Q. W T here do you reside, and where have you resided since your 
term of office commenced? 

A. I have resided in the prison since April 7, 1851, to the present 
time. 

Q. What examinations are you accustomed to make in relation to 
the health, condition and safe keeping of the convicts, and how 
often? 

A. I make daily examinations. 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 9 



130 [Assembly 

Q. Since you have been warden have there been any complaints 
made to you by convicts, relative to their provisions, if so specify 
them particularly? 

A, There have been complaints; they were in regard to the mush 
ration for supper, principally. Some of the convicts said they could 
not eat mush, and further said they would rather go without their 
supper than eat it. I should think nearly 200 made this complaint. 
There have been complaints from the dye shop, machine shop and 
cooper shop, that the men did not get food enough for dinner. These 
complaints were from six or eight men in all, and in the month of 
May last. These are all the complaints I have heard. 

Q. What did you do in regard to these complaints? 

A. The mush ration was immediately changed by the resolution 
of the board of Inspectors, and bread ration furnished to such con- 
victs, as were deemed by me requiring it. 

As it regards the complaints about dinner, I investigated them, 
and became satisfied that the men had dinner enough provided for 
them, but that they threw it under the table hoping to get something 
better. The complaint was, that the meat was too fat. 

Q. Since you have been warden, have there been any complaints 
made to you by convicts, relative to their clothing, if so state par- 
ticularly? 

A. Some of the weavers have complained that their woolen pants 
are uncomfortable. This was in hot weather, and in only two or 
three cases. 

Q. Since you have been warden, have there been any complaints 
made to you by convicts relative to their bedding, if so, state par- 
ticularly? 

A. There have been no complaints since the first month I came 
here, then they complained that their beds were dirty. This was 
remedied immediately by washing and getting new beds and bed- 
ding, as far as was necessary. 

Q. Since you have been warden, have there been any complaints 
made to you by convicts, relative to their treatment in the work 
shops, by the keepers, or by any other persons, if so, state particu- 
larly? 

A. There have been some few instances where complaints have been 
made. The weavers complained that weaving hurt them, and that 
they could not do an ordinary day's work. One from the cabinet 
shop complained that they required him to make more bedsteads in 
a week than he could make, I think his name was Miller. One 
in the hame shop, complained that the foreman required too much 



No. &0.J 131 

work of him, I don't recollect his name. I don't recollect any 
others. One of the weavers who complained, was John Hamilton, 
I don't recollect the names of the other weavers, but should think 
there were 20 or 30 in all. 

Q. What memorandum did you make of these complaints, at the 
time they were made to you? 

A. I did not make any, but endeavored to remedy them at the 
time. 

Q. Do you keep a daily journal of your proceedings in the prison, 
and if so what? 

A. Yes, of punishments, repeated to me by the keepers. 

Q. Have you noted in any journal kept in this prison, the com- 
plaints you have above mentioned made to you by convicts? 

A. I have answered this above. 

Q. Why did you not make a journal of them? 

A. For the reason that they were all remedied at the time by me, 
I did not think it necessary to make a journal, and no such journal 
has ever been kept in the prison to my knowledge. 

Q. Are the orders, rules and regulations of the prison for the 
government of the subordinate officers, and the discipline of this 
prison, the same as they were before and at the time of your ap- 
pointment? 

A. They are as far as I know. 

Q. Has there been made by you or tne Inspectors any new rules, 
orders or regulations for the purposes above mentioned other than 
those above referred to? 

A. None, except the resolution passed by the board prohibiting 
over-work, of which the following is a copy, and also another order 
made by me, discontinuing the practice of taking men out to work 
in the shops after the hour of labor. This was a verbal order. 

Resolutions passed by the Board of Inspectors in April, 1850, 

Resolved, That all bargains, agreements, promises or rewards by 
contractors, contractors' agents, clerks, keepers, guards, or any other 
person, to or with convicts, directly or indirectly, in present or 
prospective, are strictly forbidden, and that all money or property of 
any description, which may have been given to any convict under 
the circumstances above alluded to, be taken from them and returned 
to the agent as the property of the State. 

Resolved, That the warden immediately and strictly enforce the 
rule contained in the aforesaid resolution, and that it be his duty, 
fbr the faithful performance of which duty we shall hold him to a 



132 [Assembly 

strict accountability, that in cases hereafter, when he shall have sat- 
isfactory evidence that any person connected with the Auburn prison 
shall directly or indirectly violate the said rule, he shall immediately 
remove such person from said prison, and shall not allow him again 
to enter it until directed so to do by the Inspector in charge or by 
the Board of Inspectors. Adopted. 
A true copy, 

WM. F. SEGOINE, 

Clerk pro tern. 

Q. When was this verbal order given by you ? 

A. September 3d, 1851, 

Q. What was the occasion of giving this verbal order at this 
time? 

A. I did not deem it safe to take convicts out to work at such 
time ; a convict had made his escape who had been taken out to 
"work. 

Q. Has the Inspector in charge made any order in relation to this 
matter 1 

A. He has not. 

Q. Have there been any violations of the rules and regulations of 
the prison by subordinate officers since you have been here, to your 
knowledge ? 

A. There have been two cases only. 

Q. What were those violations ? 

A. Trading with convicts, and encouraging them to disobedience. 

Q, State the particulars of their offence. 

A. In one case the officer borrowed money of a convict which he 
had earned by overwork, and gave his note for it to the contractor 
in the shop where the convict worked. The other case, was for 
encouraging the convict to do violence to his keeper, and to be dis- 
obedient. Both the officers were suspended by me, and afterwards 
discharged by the Inspectors. 

Q. Have there been any punishments inflicted on convicts since 
you? term of office, and if so, please state what they were ? 

A. Punishments have been inflicted by the yoke, dungeon and 
shower bath; I have no knowledge of any other. 

Q. Which is the most usual punishment ? 

A. The shower bath. 

Q. Which do you consider the most severe punishment ? 

A. The yoke, in most cases. 

Q. How many dark cells have you for solitary confinement ? 

A. Five, but have never used but four of them, 



No. 20.] 1B3 

Q, What are the dimensions of such cells ? 

A. About seven feet square. 

Q. Is the shower bath used indiscriminately as a punishment for 
convicts ? 

A. No, it is not. In all cases where we intend to inflict severe 
punishment by the shower bath, we have the physician present, for 
fear we shall shower him too much; and there are some convicts 
whose temperament is such that we think it not safe to punish them 
in this way. 

Q. Is the physician usually consulted in regard to the propriety 
of inflicting this punishment ? 

A. Always, where there are any doubts in relation to the propriety 
of such punishment. 

Q. Have any evil effects been produced upon the convicts by this 
mode of punishment ? 

A. Not to my knowledge since I have been warden. 

Q. Have any complaints been made to you by any convicts in 
relation to this punishment injuring their constitution and health ? 

A. There have none been made. 

Q. Have the convicts any means of acquiring money or other 
property during their imprisonment ? 

A. They have not since the passage of the resolution prohibiting 
overwork. 

Q. What written reports do you make ? 

A. I make a monthly report to the Inspectors. 

Q. How many keepers are now employed in this prison ? 

A. Twenty-nine. 

Q. How many guards ? 

A. Twenty. 

Q. What other officers are there in the prison ? 

A. The agent, warden, clerk, chaplain, physician, and two in- 
structors. 

Q. When were the present officers of the prison appointed ? 

A. All have been appointed since January 1, 1851, except the 
instructors, who were here under the former officers ; about half of 
the keepers have been officers here in former years. 

Q. Do you know of any officer of this prison who has any inter- 
est, directly or indirectly, in any contract for the employment of 
convicts, or for furnishing supplies of any character 1 

A. I do not. 

Sept. 19, 1851. 

Q. What remedy did you propose for those convicts of the weave 
shop who complained of being injured by their work ? 



134 Assembly 

A. Of those found injured ; we changed their work, or reduced 
the amount. 

Q. Has any punishment been inflicted on any convict which has 
not been noted in the journal ? 

A. No sir, unless it has taken place since the commencement of 
my examination, 

Q. What experience have you had in prison government before 
your term of office commenced ? 

A. I have been interested in the prison as a contractor, more or 
less for 20 years past. 

Q, What is your opinion as to the comparative value, as a mode 
of punishment, of the cat and shower-bath ? 

A. I think the cat is the most efficient, however I think I can 
keep good discipline with the present modes of punishment. 

Q. Which is the most likely to injure the health of the convict, 
the cat or the shower-bath ? 

A. The shower-bath. 

Q. There are three interests connected with this prison, viz : 
that of the State, that of the prisoner, and that of the contractor, 
which do you consider under your charge particularly ? 

A. That of the prisoner. 

Barnabas King, sworn ; and being interrogated answered as fol- 
lows : 

Q. Are you a keeper of the Auburn prison ? 

A. I am. 

Q. In what shop ? 

A. The tool shop. 

Q. How long have you been such keeper ? 

A. I have been keeper since the latter part of March now; I was 
keeper about three years previous to June 1848. 

Q. What salary do you receive per year ? 

A. $550. 

Q. Do you keep a daily account of the labor of each convict under 
your charge ? 

A. I do. 

Q. Who is the judge whether a convict under your charge per- 
forms a full day's labor 1 

A. I intend to be the judge generally, 

Q. Do you often have disputes or disagrements with the contrac- 
tors upon this point? 

A. I do not 

Q. Is a certain amount of work considered a day's work in your 
shop; if so, state what it is? 



No. 20.] 135 

A. The most of the men have day's works ; for instance, jack- 
plane makers are required to make nine double iron planes or ten 
single irons. 

Q. Please state In what time of the day the more expert hands 
finish their tasks, and how they employ their time afterwards? 

A. Many of them can by twelve o'clock noon; they are idle the 
rest of the time in the shop, but are required to keep their places. 

Q. Are they allowed to read after they have done their day's 
work? 

A. They are not, for the reason that they hurry off their work 
when allowed to read. 

Q. Would not a convict who had finished his task at an early 
hour of the day, be willing to do overwork for some slight reward? 

A. They would be very glad to. 

Q. After a convict has finished his day's task, do you know of 
any case where he has been required to work in the same day? 

A, I do not; but sometimes they are asked to do chores, and they 
do them. 

Q. Do you believe the amount cf labor required of convicts for 
a full day's work, is more than the convicts under your charge on an 
average can easily perform? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Are there any half-pay men in your shop; if so, how many? 

A. There are; about one-fourth of the men. 

Q. Do any of these men do a full day's work? 

A. They do not. 

Q. Are not these half-pay men apparently as capable, able-bodied 
and healthy as full pay men? • , 

A. They are not. 

Q. Are they not as able bodied and healthy as full pay men? 

A. A few of them are, but a majority are not. 

Q. What are the usual hours of labor in your shop? 

A. In the summer we open at b\ A. M. and close at 6 P. M.; 
during the remainder of the year we work during daylight. 

Q. Has any contractor or other person ever held out to you any 
inducement to require more than a day's work of any convict under 
your charge. 

A. There never has. 

Q. Do you know of any inducement being held out to any other 
keeper in this prison for the like purpose? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Do you know of any instances where presents have been made 
by any contractor or other person to any keeper in this prison? 



136 [Assembly 

A. Sometimes a contractor will get up a cane and give it to a 
keeper, but nothing to any greater amount 

Q. When a convict is disobedient, what course do you pursue 
with him. 

A. I generally put him in the dungeon or dark ceil over night; I 
have in a few instances punished with the shower-bath. 

Q. Were these, punishments inflicted without consulting with the 
warden ? 

A. They were. I asked the warden when I first came here if I 
should apply to him when I had cases for punishment, he said not, 
and told me to use my own discretion. 

Q. Do you always report punishments ? 

A. Always. 

Q. What is your opinion of different modes of punishment in- 
cluding the cat 1 

A. I am decidedly in favor of the cat, for the reason that it is 
attended with less loss of time, it brings about the desired effect with 
less trouble, is more efficient, less liable to injure the health and 
mind of the convict, and less liable to abuse than the shower-bath, 
yoke, or even the dungeon. 

My objections to the shower-bath are, that it is liable to injure 
the mind, as well as the health of certain convicts. 

Q. Have you ever consulted the physician of the prison before the 
infliction of punishment by the shower-bath, upon convicts under your 
charge 1 

A. I never have, my punishments have always been very light. 

Q. What is the largest quantity of water you have ever showered 
upon a convict ? 

A. Not to exceed \ of a barrel 

Q. Has there ever been ice in the water when you have showered 
convicts ? 

A. There never has. 

Q. Have you seen ice in the water when convicts have been pun- 
ished by other keepers 1 

A. I have, in one case. 

Q. What was the object of putting ice in the water I 

A. To add to the severity of the punishment. 

Q. Give the case 1 

A. It was a punishment of a man in the weave shop under Simp- 
son, who had attempted to make an escape. This was in July last, 
I think. 

Q. Was he a healthy convict ? 



No. 20.] 137 

A. He was a strong, healthy fellow. 

Q. How much water was used on this man 1 

A. I think one barrel certainly, and perhaps two. 

Q. Was you there during the entire punishment of this convict ? 

A. I believe I was ; but I may have been out of sight once or 
twice, but not out of hearing. 

Q. Describe the machine used for punishment, by shower bath. 

A. The convict is placed in a sitting posture, with his hands ex- 
tended, but not at full length, and confined; his feet are also con- 
fined ; his head is confined by two planks, cut to fit the neck, and a 
hopper around it three or four inches high. 

Q. What effects have you known to be produced by the use of 
the shower bath, as inflicted by you ? 

A. In one case about six weeks ago I did not apply more than 
two pails of water. The convict was detained in the hospital I 
think three days in consequence of it. He was not in as good con- 
dition for labor when he returned to his shop, as before the punish- 
ment. 

Q. Was the health of this convict good before his punishment, and 
what was his age and temperament ? 

A. I think his health was good, age about forty years, and rather 
a mild sort of a man. 

Q. Are punishments with the shower bath more frequent than when 
the cat was used 1 

A. I should think not 

Q. Have there been any eases of convicts working out of the 
usual hours of labor in your shop I 

A. There have been one or two instances. 

Q. By whose direction were they taken to work, an 1 for what 
purpose ? 

A. At the request of the contractors and by permission of the 
warden, for repairing machinery, which could not be done while it 
was running. 

Q. Was this work for the benefit of the State or of the contrac- 
tors, and how was it charged ? 

A. The contractors, and no charge was made of it 

Q. Did the convicts complain of this ? 

A. They did not. They considered it a privilege. 

Q. Are convicts taken out to work on Sunday, if so, please state 
the circumstances 1 

A. They were taken out two Sundays, only to repair the reservoir 
which feeds a number of engines. That unless this reservoir was re- 



138 (Assembly 

paired, the engines could not run. Water was supplied from this 
reservoir. There were between 20 and 30 men out at these times. 
The men desired to go out to work, and there was no compulsion 
used to make them go. 

Q, Have you heard any complaint from convicts under your charge 
in regard to their food? 

A. I have heard them complain one or two days. This was about 
a month ago, and the complaint was that the waiters at the table 
did not give them as much food as they wanted, and they had to 
leave without getting enough to eat. This was a pretty general com- 
plaint in my shop. I went to the kitchen keeper, and ascertained 
that it grew out of the negligence of the waiter. This was reme- 
died, and I have heard no complaint since. 

Q. Describe the yoke used in the prison, and what do you think 
of it as a punishment? 

A. The yoke is made of iron, and weighs 35 or 40 pounds. I 
think it a cruel punishment, much more so than the cat. One of the 
convicts in my shop who has received, perhaps, more punishment 
than any man in prison, told me that he had rather receive twenty 
lashes from the cat, than have two pails of water in the shower bath, 
or wear the yoke one half an hour. 

David W. Simpson sworn, and being interrogated, answered as 
follows: 

Q. Are you a keeper in the Auburn Prison? 

A. I am. 

Q. H©w long have you been keeper? 

A. I have been keeper now since January 3, 1851, and was keeper 
for about 3 years previous to 1846. 

Q. In what shop are you now? 

A. In the carpet shop. 

Q. What salary do you receive? 

A. $550 per year. 

Q. Do you keep a daily account of the labor of each convict un- 
der your charge? 

A. I do. 

Q. Who is the judge whether a convict under your charge performs 
a full day's labor? 

A. I am, generally. 

Q. Do you often have disputes or disagreements with the contrac- 
tors upon this point? 

A. No, I do not. 

Q. Is a certain amount of work considered a day's work in your 
shop? If so, state what it is. 



No. 20.] 139 

A. It Is. I require of Venetian weavers 16 yards per day, ingrain 
weavers 8 yards per day, rug weavers 3 J rugs per week. This is 
during the long days of the summer. 

Q, Please state at what time of day the most expert hands finish 
their tasks, and how they employ their time afterwards? 

A. Some of them by 3 o'clock P. M.; this would not be done ev- 
ery day by them. They employ themselves in voluntary labor after 
their work is done, but this is not required of them; some times they 
are idle, and remain in their places. 

Q. Are they allowed to read after they have finished their day's 
work? 

A. I allowed no reading until last week, when I allowed some 3 
or 4 to take their books about ten minutes before leaving the shop* 
I would have allowed more had they asked it. 

Q. Would not a convict who had finished his task at an early 
hour of the day be willing to do over work for some slight reward? 

A. Some would. 

Q. After a convict has finished his day's task, do you know of 
any case where he has been required to work in the same day. 

A. I do not. 

Q. Do you believe the amount of labor required of convicts for a 
full day's work is more than the convicts under your charge on an 
average can easily perform, 

A. I do not. 

Q. Are there any half pay men in your shop; if so, how many? 

A. There are; about one-sixth of the men. 

Q. Are not these half pay men as able bodied and healthy as full 
pay men? 

A. They are not, as I think. 

Q. How much labor do these half pay men on the average per- 
form? 

A. They would average more than a half day's work each. 

Q. Who decides these men to be J pay men? 

A. The agent or physician. 

Q. Do these J pay men accomplish their task before the time of 
leaving their task? 

A. They do f 

Q. Have you ever raised a | pay man to a full pay man? 

A. I have, one. 

Q. Have any full pay men been reduced to \ pay men by you? 

A. There have been several. 



140 [Assembly 

Q. By whose direction was this clone? 

A. By the agent or physician. 

Q. What are the usual hours of labor in your shop? 

A. From 6 o'clock A. M. to 6 P. M., deducting time for break- 
fast, dinner and washing. 

Q. Has any contractor, or other person ever held out to you any 
inducement to require more than a day's work of any convict under 
your charge? 

A. There never has. 

Q. Do you know of any inducement being held out to any other 
keeper in this prison for the like purpose? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Do you know of any instance where presents have been made 
by any contractor or other person to any keeper of this prison? 

A. I do not. 

Q. When a convict is disobedient what course do you pursue with 
him? 

A. I punish him when I think it necessary. 

Q. In what manner do you inflict punishment? 

A. Sometimes we yoke him, sometimes we use the shower bath, 
and sometimes the dungeon. 

Q. Are these punishments inflicted without consulting with the 
warden? 

A. Sometimes they are and sometimes not, according to the cir- 
cumstances. 

Q. Have you any discretion as to the extent and manner of the 
punishment? 

A. I have, and generally use my own judgment when the warden 
is not present at the punishment. 

Q. Do you always report punishments, if so in what manner? 

A. I do, in writing. 

Q. What is your opinion of different modes of punishment, in- 
cluding the cat? 

A. I think the shower bath and yoke very poor modes of punish- 
ment, for the reason that in yoking you lose the man's time while 
in the yoke, and it is liable to make him sore and stiff, and renders 
him unable to perform labor often times. I consider the shower bath 
very injurious to some convicts, and some it will not hurt. I have 
had men in the dungeon who said they had rather be put in the 
yoke, or show r ered, than be confined in the dungeon. Use the cat 
with discretion, and I think it the safest and best mode of punish- 
ment. I was keeper in this prison over three years when the cat 
was used. 



No. 20.] 141 

Q. Have you ever consulted the physician of the prison before 
infliction of punishment by the shower bath upon convicts under 
your charge? 

A. I have. 

Q. Have you ever substituted any other punishment for the shower 
bath, from any advice received by you from the physician? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Have you any convicts under your charge whom you would 
not be willing to punish by shower bath? 

A. I don't know that I have. 

Q. Do you know of any convicts in the prison out of the hospital, 
whom you would be unwilling to punish by shower bath? 

A. I don't know of any well man. 

Q. What is the largest quantity of water you have ever showered 
upon a convict? 

A. I think I gave Brewer four barrels of water; I yoked him 
two hours, and put him in the dungeon. This was the largest quan- 
tity I ever gave any convict. 

Q. When was this? 

A. June 29, 1851. 

Q. Has there ever been ice in the water when you have showered 
convicts? 

A. There has; the only time was when I showered Brewer. 

Q. Who were present when this punishment was inflicted? 

A, The agent, warden, and several keepers. 

Q. How long time was you employed in showering this man? 

A. From fifteen to twenty minutes, I should think, and perhaps 
one half an hour. 

Q. Did this man lose any time after his punishment in consequence 
thereof ? 

A. He did not. 

Q. Did you perceive any bad effects from this punishment ? 

A. I did not. 

Q. What was the object of putting ice in the water? 

A. To make the punishment more severe. 

Q. Was this convict a healthy man? 

A. He was. 

Q. Have you known any blows inflicted upon a convict by any 
officer of this prison? 

A. I have not, since the cat was abolished. 

Q. W T hat bad effects have you known to be produced by the use of 
the shower bath? 



142 [Assembly 

A. I never have known any one injured but once; this was a 
colored man; he took cold, and was unable to work, for one day. 

Q. Do you know of any case where the infliction of the shower 
bath did not operate as a punishment? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Have there been any cases of convicts working out of the 
usual hours of labor iu your shop? 

A. There have been, as I am informed, a few instances where a 
man was taken out to do warping. 

Q. By whose directions were they taken to work? 

A. By the request of the contractor, and permission of the warden. 

Q. When was this? 

A. A day during last winter and spring. 

Q. Was this work for the benefit of the State or of the contract- 
ors? 

A. The contractor. 

Q. Did you ever hear the convicts complain of this! 

A. I never did. They were glad of the privilege. 

Q. Do you know of convicts being taken out to work on Sunday? 
State the circumstances. 

A. I do. They were taken out to repair a reservoir, which be- 
longed to the State. The water had all leaked out and it was ne- 
cessary to have the water for the safety of the prison. I don't know 
of any other case. 

Q. Have you ever heard any complaints from convicts under your 
charge in regard to their food and clothing? 

A. They complained last spring that they were tired of eating 
mutton. This is the onl) complaint that I have heard. 

Q. What w T as the offence of Brewer, who was punished as hereto- 
fore stated by you? 

A. He was punished for hiding away from 5 to 6 P. M. to 11 A. 
M. next day, having a knife in his possession, making threats of vio- 
lence that he would have revenge, and striking at one of the officers. 

Q. Have you had any cause to inflict punishment upon him since? 

A. I have not, for he has behaved very well. 

Sept. 20, 1851. 

Charles Billings sworn, and being interrogated, answered as fol- 
lows : 

Q. Have you been a convict in the Auburn prison; how long; 
when was you discharged, and what is your age? 

A. I have been two years, and was discharged this day, and am 
aged 49 years, and am a baker by trade. 

Q. Where have you worked since you have been in prison? 



No. 20.] 143 

A. Fifteen months in the kitchen, nine months in the tool-shop, 

Q. Have you any complaints to make of your treatment while in 
prison? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Do you know of any convict that has been abused; if yea, give 
particulars? 

A. I do. During the time I was in the kitchen under the disci- 
pline of Mr. Tyler, Van Pelt, a keeper of the spin-shop, came 
through the kitchen with a Dutch convict; at the entrance of the 
kitchen the convict says to him, I want to see the warden. Van 
Pelt says, you can't see him, go along as I tell you. The convict 
replied, I want to see the warden before you punish me. Van Pelt 
then drew his cane and struck at him; he missed the convict and fell 
in the gutter. He then got up and struck the convict twice over his 
shoulders with his cane. The convict was then taken down to the 
showering-machine. This was in the latter part of the winter, or 
early in the spring of 1850. 

Q. Have you seen blows struck in the prison by the officers in 
other instances; please state? 

A. T have. In the spring of 1850, I saw the warden strike a 
convict, a Spaniard, with his cane, as many as seven or eight blows 
on the head. The convict had got his clothes colored and made his 
escape from the prison, but was caught and brought back, and while 
in the kitchen the warden struck him as above. The warden's name 
w r as Tyler. 

Q. Do the convicts communicate with each other by words and 
signs? 

A. They do. 

Q. How often have you been visited by the chaplain? 

A. Not more than twice since I have been here. 

Q. What opportunities have you had for reading? 

A. Since the fall of 1850 reading has been forbidden excepting in 
the cells; and in the cells we are unable to read, except on Sunday, 
and on some of the longest days of the year. 

Francis C. Rich sworn, and being interrogated, answered as fol- 
lows: 

Q. Are you a keeper in the Auburn Prisos? 

A. I am. 

Q. In what shop? 

A. The shoe shop. 

Q, How long have you been keeper? 

A. I have been keeper now since January, 1851, and about three 
years previous to 1848. 



144 [Assembly 

Q. What salary do you receive per year? 

A. |550. 

Q. Do you keep a daily account of the labor of each convict un- 
der your charge? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Who is the judge whether a convict under your charge per- 
forms a full day's labor? 

A. I am. 

Q. What convicts under your charge do you make a charge of? 

A. The State hands, and four or five men who are invalids, and 
work but a small portion of their time. 

Q. Who do these invalids work for when they work? 

A. The contractor, generally. 

Q. Do you say that there is no charge made to the contractor for 
their labor? 

A. I do. 

Q. What proportion of a day's labor do they perform? 

A. One I think does not perform one-twentieth part; two others 
not one-eighth part, one other, not a quarter; I think so as to all. 
These I think are all. 

Q. Do you often have disagreements or disputes with the contract- 
or or agent as to whether a convict performs a full day's labor? 

A. I have with his agent. 

Q. Is a certain amount of work considered a day's work in your 
shop; if so, state what it is? 

A. It is. They require of convicts making peg calf boots two 
pairs per day; of kip peg boots, 15 pairs per week; channel gaiters, 
15 pair per week; this is putting the bottoms on. 

Q. Please state at what time of the day the more expert hands 
finish their tasks, and how they employ their time after? 

A. There are very few that do the amount of work they require 
in a day, some do a little more; those that finish their task are al- 
lowed to remain idle or take exercise in the open air. 

Q. Are they allowed to read after they have done their days' 
work ? 

A. I never have prohibited them when they were reading quietly. 

Q. Would not a convict who had finished his task at an early 
hour of the day, be willing to do overwork, for some slight reward. 

A. He would. 

Q. After a convict has finished his days' task, do you know of 
any case where he has been required to work in the same day ! 

A. I do not 



No. 20.1 145 



Q. Do you believe the amount of labor required by you of con- 
victs for a full days' work, is more than the convicts under your 
charge on an average, can easily perform? 

A. I do not. 

Q. How many full pay men have you in your shop? 

A. Ten at 65| cents per day, and four at 50 cents per day. 
||.Q. Do these ten full pay men realize 65| cents per day when in 
good health? 

A. They do. 

Q. Do you report the amount of work daily? 

A. No sir, I report monthly. 

Q. Is your report of day's work made to the agent, for full pay 
men dependent upon the work performed? 

A. It is not. 

Q. How many half pay men are there in your shop? 

A. There are 31 drawing one-half of 65 j cents per day, but four 
of these do but very little work, and 3 drawing one-half of 50 cents 
per day. 

Q. How long have these men been drawing this pay? 

A. Ever since I have been keeper this time. 

Q. How long have the 10 full pay men been drawing 65| cents 

A. Ever since I have been keeper this time. 

Q. Who decides whether the convicts in your shop shall draw full 
or one-half pay. 

A. The agent, I suppose. 

Q. Have any of these men been changed since you have had 
charge of the shop, from full pay to half pay, or from half pay to 
full pay; if so, who? 

A. They have not. I mean the 65 j cent men. 

Q. Are these half pay men generally able-bodied men? 

A. They are not, in my opinion 

Q. Are any of them able bodied men; if any, state how many? 

A. There are; there may be half a dozen. I am not certain as to 
the number; there may be more. 

Q. Do you make it your duty to ascertain how many of them are 
able bodied men? 

I do; at least I intend to. 

Q. For what reason are these able bodied men charged as half 
pay men? 

A. For the reason that they do not do a certain quantity of work. 

Q. Have you been instructed by the agent to change the class of 
men if circumstances would warrant it? 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 10 



146 [Assembly 

A. I have been instructed by the agent to put up a man if he 
could perform a full day's work. 

Q. From whence do you derive an estimate of a full day's work? 

A. From the list furnished me by the contractor. 

Q Have you any men in your shop who draw any other than full 
or half pay? 

A. I have not, 

Q. Is there any certain amount of work required by you of the 
half pay men? 

A. 1 require them to do half day's work, according to the con- 
tractor's statement; but it is not in all cases done, and in some cases 
it is more than' done. 

Q. When did the contractor furnish you with a list of the amount 
of work required from a full pay man and a half pay man; and for 
what purpose? 

A. It was furnished me last May for the full pay men, and I made 
for the half pay men pro rata from it; and it was furnished me for 
the purpose of showing me the amount of labor they required from 
the men. 

Q. Do your half pay men usually perform the amount of labor 
required by this list? 

A. They do not; some do more and some less. 

Q. In your monthly report to the agent do you pay attention to the 
list furnished you by the contractor? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Do your half pay men finish their tasks before quitting at 
night? 

A. Some of them do, and some work up to the time of ringing off. 

Q. Does your monthly report to the agent shew the amount of la- 
bor performed by each man; if not, state what it does shew? 

A. It does not; I make a report of the number of days labor per- 
formed at 65 J cents per day, and of the number of days at 50 cents 
per day, in the aggregate. 

Q. How often does the agent visit your shop and inspect your 
record and men? 

A. He visits the shop every few days, and inspects the record once 
a month. 

Q. Do you wish to make any explanation in regard to the man- 
ner of estimating the amount of work done in your shop by the diffe- 
rent classes of convicts? 

A. I do; and state that Pangburn is making three pairs more than 
is required of him for a week's work. He is a half pay man. Ma- 



NO.20.J 147 

liar, a full pay man, is required to make eighteen pairs per week, 
and only makes nine. There are two or three other instances of a 
like character. I consider that the full pay men do not on the ave- 
rage perform the amount of labor required of them by the contractor 
in his list, and that the half pay men fall short on an average, of a 
half days work each, and that the four who are not charged, and 
who are not able bodied men, are intended to make up the deficiency 
in the other classes. 

Q. Is the amount of work required for a full day's labor, the 
same now as it was when you were formerly keeper of the same 
shop? 

A. I think it is about the same; I can't say whether it is more or 
less. 

Q. Did you formerly have a statement furnished by you by the 
contractors of what they required as a full day's labor? 

A. I believe I did. 

Q. Has any contractor or other person ever held out to you any 
inducement to require more than a day's work of any convict under 
your charge? 

A. No sir. 

Q. Do you know of any instance where presents have been made 
by any contractor or other person to any officer of this prison? 

A. I do not. 

Q» When a convict is disobedient, what course do you pursue with 
him? 

A. I talk with him when I think it will do any good, and some- 
times I punish him. 

Q. How do you punish? 

A. By shower-bath and by the yoke. 

Q. Are these punishments inflicted without consulting with the 
warden? 

A. They are generally. 

Q. Do you always report punishments? 

A. I do. 

Q. What is your opinion of different modes of punishment, in- 
cluding the cat? 

A. I think the cat is far preferable to the punishments used in the 
prison, both in regard to health and the discipline of the prison. 
My objection to the shower bath is that it injures the health and 
mind of the convict; that it is not exemplary for the reason that it 
is not administered in the presence of the convicts. When the cat 
was used, the convict was punished in the presence of all in the 
shop in most cases. I think the yoke very injurious to the health 



148 [Assemble 

and constitution of the convict, for the reason that some convicts are 
made very sore and stiff. 

Q. Have you ever consulted with the physician before the in- 
fliction of punishment by shower bath upon convicts under your 
charge? 

A. I don't know that I ever have. 

Q. What is the largest quantity of water you have ever showered 
upon a convict? 

A. About one and a half barrels, I think ; and I used no ice. 

Q. Have there been any cases of convicts working out of the 
usual hours of labor in your shop? 

A. None that I know of. 

Q. Have you heard any complaints from convicts under yovjr 
charge in regard to their food, clothing and bedding?. 

A. I have heard them complain in January,, February and in April 
last, that their bedding was very dirty, and that their clothing was 
thin. I went to the warden and ic was remedied. This was when 
I was doing relief duty. They also complained in May last I think, 
that they had not such victuals as they could eat at night; that they 
could not eat mush and molasses. I had noticed the men, some 
twelve or fourteen of them, going to their cells at night without 
their suppers; I went to the warden about it, and immediately after 
he ordered bread rations; since then I have heard no complaints. 

Q. Have any convicts in your shop complained that their w r ork 
injured their health; if so, state the particulars? 

A. They have frequently; they complain; Reed complains of pain 
in his side, his nbs having been broke; Van Cord complains that it 
hurts him to sit; and many other similar complaints. 

Q. What heed have you given to these complaints? 

A. I have directed them to go to the hospital in some cases, and 
consult the physician; in other cases, I have sent them into the 
yard for a short time to exercise. 

Q. Have any convicts been transferred to other work in conse- 
quence of these complaints? 

A. They have not, to my knowledge, except in one instance. 

Q. Do you make any written report of complaints made to you 
by convicts, of their treatment, or of their occupation injuring their 
health? 

A. I do not. 

Q. What written report other than your monthly report do you* 
make to the warden? 

A. I have made none, except of punishments. 



No. 20.] 149 

Q. Have you any insane convicts in your shop; if so, how many? 

A. I believe I have several; I think I can safely say four, and 
at times six. 

Q. Have you ever reported these men to the physician? 

A. I never have; I have spoken to the warden about them. 

Q. What is the occasion of their insanity? 

A. I don't know; they were in the shop when I took charge of 
it, except one who I took from the dungeon; his name was Owen 1 
think. • 

Q. What are the names of those convicts who you think to be 
insane? 

A. James Delane, James Knapp, George Owens, John Goodrich. 

Q. Are these men half pay men? 

A. Two are, the other two work for the State. 

Q. Have either of these men been showered since you have had 
charge of them? 

A. No sir. 

Elijah W. Hager, sworn, and being interrogated, answered as 
follows: 

Q Are you chaplain in the Auburn Prison? 

A. I am. 

Q. How long have you been chaplain? 

A. Since February 1, 1851. 

Q. What portion of your time do you devote to your duties? 

A. I spend, in the prison, almost the entire time during the day. 

Q. Do you confer more or less with every convict in the prison? 

A. I intend to do so. 

■Q. What number of books are there in the prison library, and 
what is their quality and condition? 

A. I should think about 600 volumes; they are small and in a mu- 
tilated condition. 

Q. W 7 hat is yonr opinion of the character of the books? 

A. They are, many of them, interesting, and many not; and, as a 
whole, the library is inadequate to the wants of the prison. 
Q. Do you visit the convicts in the evening, and how long? 
A. I average one hour and a half each evening. 

Q. How often do you perform religious services? 

A. Once in each Sunday, and sometimes I perform services in the 
hospital. I am at the dinner table every day, nearly, and ask a 
blessing. 

Q. Is each prisoner furnished with a bible? 

A. He is, also with a prayer book. 



1 50 [Assembly 

Q. Do the prisoners make any complaints to you of their treatment? 

A. They have not recently. In the spring they complained of 
several of the keepers, and of their food. 

Q. What heed did you give to their complaints? < 

A. I was a new officer and did not give any heed to them. 

Q. Have you any suggestions to make regarding the modes of 
punisments? 

A. I should be in favor of doing away with the yoke and shower 
bath, if it could be, and substituting the dungeon. 

Q. Do you make a quarterly report to the Inspectors, as to the in- 
struction of the convicts'? 

A. I do. 

Q. How many instructors are employed in this prison? 

A. Two. 

Q. Do you think this number sufficient? 

A. I do not, I think there should be at least four, and two of 
which should be capable of giving religious advice in conjunction 
with the chaplain. 

Q. What suggestion have you to make in regard to the mora! 
improvement and condition of the convicts? 

A. I would suggest that every man should be furnished with a» 
light, in some way, to enable him to read in his cell ; also an in- 
crease of the library, and an increase of the number of instructors, as 
before stated; at present, about nine-tenths of the convicts are una- 
ble to read at night, for want of light. 

September 22d, 1851. A 

Blanchard Fosgate sworn. 

Q. How long have you been engaged in the practice of medicine? 
and where have you resided and do now reside ? 

A. I reside in Auburn, have been engaged in practice ior 15 years? 
more or less, and have resided in Auburn 29 years. 

Q. Were you at any time the physician of this prison, if so for 
what period ? 

A. I was appointed in April, 1849, and remained until March? 
1851. 

Q. How often did you visit the cells of convicts, and for what 
purpose ? 

A. I visited the cells, some of them every week, but not all, to 
examine the condition of them. 

Q. How did you find the cells generally, as regards cleanliness and 
ventilation ? 

A. The cells were generally clean, but the ventilation is bad from 
the construction of the building. They had all the ventilation that 



No. 20.] 151 

coulJ be had from the construction. The building is not constructed 
with reference to the modern systems of ventilation, and a forced 
ventilation is necessary to get a pure state of atmosphere in the 
buildings. 

Q. How are the buildings ventilated ? 

A. By small openings in the ceilings to the roof, but they are in- 
sufficient to answer the purpose. 

Q. Did )ou ever suggest to the warden and Inspectors this diffi- 
culty of ventilation 1 

A. I have frequently, to the warden and Inspectors. 

Q. What was done about it ? 

A. Nothing that I know of. 

Q. Did they ever confer with you about it 1 

A. They never did. 

Q. Do you think the health of the convicts would be promoted by 
a change of ventilation, what change would you suggest 1 

A. I think health would be essentially promoted. I am not pre- 
pared to state the manner by which its ventilation should be pro- 
duced. 

Q. How often did you visit the kitchen, and for what purpose I 

A. So long as it was of any use I visited it every day, to examine 
the provisions. 

Q. What was the character of the provisions ? 

A. It varied very much. 

Q. Did you at any time find the provisions of an unwholesome 
quality, and what appeared to be the difficulty ? 

A. I did. The objection to the provisions I mostly observed was 
in the making of the bread, and the material used at times which 
was bad in quality for the health of the convicts. This was more 
particularly the case during the summer of 1850. The difficulty of 
the bread was that during this time it was most of the time sour. I 
charged upon the agent and the keeper in the kitchen that the super- 
fine flour was taken out. The meat was generally good. 

Q. Did you report the fact to the warden or agent, or Inspectors ? 

A. I did to the warden and agent, but not to the Inspectors. 

Q. Was your report verbal or written ? 

A. It was verbal. 

Q. What notice did the agent or warden take of the case, and 
what passed between you ? 

A. He made no change. I had an interview with the agent ; it 
w 7 as as follows : He called me into the office one morning in Au- 
gust, 1850, and he said he had heard I had said the bread was not 



152 [Assembly 

good. I replied that for 14 days consecutively it had been sour, and 
that the hospital was full of convicts sick with the diarrhoea and dys- 
entery. He replied that it was generally acknowledged by people 
all over the world who had visited the prison, to be good; that every 
physician in the town would pronounce it good. I replied that they 
had no responsibility in the matter, and that they had nothing to do 
with it. He said he was as good a judge of bread as I was. I re- 
plied that the law made me the judge instead of him of this matter. 
I also attempted to have the beans then used changed, and rice sub- 
stituted during the month of August, on account of the bad effect up- 
on the convicts, but it was substituted I think for one day, and after 
this interview the bread was sometimes better ; but I did not exam- 
ine so frequently as before, for the reason that it was more difficult to 
get at the facts. 

Q Did the agent, warden or Inspectors at any time have words 
or disputes with you in relation to the quality of food ? 

A. Lhad disputes or words with the agent, as above stated. 

Q. Did you suspend your visits to the kitchen at any time ? 

A. I did. 

Q. For what reason ? 

A. For the reason that my requests were not regarded. 

Q. Were any convicts sick, in }our opinion, by reason of eating 
unwholesome food, if so when and how many ? 

A. There were in August and September, 1850 ; I should think 
the principal part of the sickness at this time was from this cause. 
This was the time when there was so much sickness in the prison. 

Q. What other general remarks have you to make in regard to 
the general health of the prison 1 

A. I think that the ill health of the convicts depends much on 
the humidity of the dormitories ; that it induces rheumatism, which 
is one of the chief affections of the prison. I don't think the con- 
victs have sufficient clothing in the winter season ; I tested the at- 
mosphere in the kitchen, from which the principal dormitory opens, 
and found it at the point of saturation. 

Q. What modes of punishment were used while you were physi- 
cian ? 

A. The shower bath, yoke and dungeon. 

Q. Did you ever see thise punishments applied to convicts, if so 
which ? 

A. I have, all of them. 

Q What is your opinion of the different modes of punishment as 
a discipline 1 



No 20.] 153 

A. I think them all bad for the health and discipline. There is 
a difference as to their injury to health. I consider the shower bath 
to be the most injurious to the health of the convict and to the dis- 
cipline. 

Q. Have any convicts been injured in health of body and mind 
by reason of their punishment, if so give the instances in your know- 
ledge and belief ? 

A. There have several, I will furnish you statement at length 
hereafter. 

Q. Did you communicate your belief how such injury was occa- 
sioned, either to the warden, agent, or Inspectors ? 

A. I have. 

Q. What notice did they take of your communications ? 

A. I don't know; there was no change to my knowledge. 

Q. Was there any convicts sent to the hospital who were made 
sick or disabled for work by reason of their punishment, if so give 
all the cases in your knowledge and belief? 

A. There were a good many, T will furnish cases in my state- 
ment to be made. 

Q. Did you communicate such facts to the warden, agent or 
Inspectors ? 

A. I did, to the warden and Inspectors. 

Q. What notice was taken of your communication ? 

A. I don't know that any notice was taken of it. 

Q. Did any of the convicts, while you were the physician here, 
die from the effects of punishments, if so who were they ? 

A. I am not prepared to say. 

Q. Were any convicts made iasane, in your opinion, from punish- 
ments ? 

A. There were. , 

Q. Were there any convicts made sick, in your opinion, from 
over working? 

A. There were a great many, it is not uncommon for convicts to 
be sick from over work. 

Q. How often were such complaints made to you by convicts? 

B. Very frequently. 

Q. From what shops did they come? 
A. From every shop in the prison. 

Q. Did you communicate this to the agent, warden, or Inspectors? 
A. I did to the warden. 

Q. What notice was taken of your communication? 
A. He directed me if the men were unable to work to excuse 
them. 



1 54 [Assembly 

Q. Did either of the contractors or officers of this prison ever solicit 
you to discharge from the hospital, as able to labor, any convict, 
who, in your judgment, ought not to work. 

A. The hospital is closely watched by the contractors, and such 
instances are not unfrequent. 

Q. Have any convicts been compelled to work, in your opinion, 
when they were unable to do so by reason of ill- health? 

A. There have been many, but they were mostly chronic cases, where 
it was impossible to judge satisfactorily to all. 
Minard V. Babcock, sworn: 
Q. Are you a keeper in the Auburn prison? 
A. I am. 

Q. In what shop? 
A. The spin shop. 

Q. How long have you been keeper, now and formerly. 
A. Since May 1, 1851, now, and about five years formerly. 
Q. Do you keep a daily account of the labor of each convict under 
your charge? 

A. 1 do, when I am here. 

Q. Who is the judge whether a convict under your charge per- 
forms a full days labor? 
A. I am. 

Q. Do you often have disputes or disagreements with the con- 
tractors upon this point? 

A. I do not, during my present term of office. 
Q. Is a certain amount of work considered a day's work in your 
shop; if so state what it is? 
A. There is no stated amount. 

Q. Are convicts under your charge always required to work du- 
ring the working hours of the day? 

A. They are, unless excused by me, or the foreman of the shop. 
Q. Do you allow the foreman in your shop to excuse a man from 
labor at any time? . 

A. I do, but I charge for his time while so excused. 
Q. Do you always comply with the recommendation of the physi- 
cian as to excusing men from labor? 
A. I do. 

Q. How many convicts do you have under your charge; how 
many full pay and how many half pay men? 
A. 61 — 51 full pay and 10 half pay men. 

Q. Is there any difference in the employment of the full pay and 
half pay men? 



No. 20.] 155 

A. There is. 

Q. What are the half pay men engaged in? 

A. In spooling and reeling. They are all engaged thus, except 
one, who is picking over the waste. 

Q. Are these 10 half pay men infirm from old age, cripple, or 
unable to perform a full days' labor? 

A. I think they are. 

Q. Are any of them able bodied men? 

A. I should think not. 

Q. Under whose instruction do you call them half pay or full pay 
men? 

A. The agent's; and I am instructed by him not to reduce any 
man, but am instructed to put him up if 1 think he should be. 

Q. How often do you make your reports to the agent, and how. 

A. Once a month, in writing, which is in the form of a charge 
against the contractor, stating the aggregate number of days labor at 
full, and the aggregate number at half pay. 

Q. Are complaints ever made to you by convicts under your 
charge of ill treatment, or want of proper food? 

A. None, since my last term of office. 

Q. Are you required to report to the agent or warden all viola- 
tions of the rules of the prison by officers? 

A. I am. 

Q. Which is the most usual punishment inflicted by you upon 
convicts? 

A. The shower bath. 

Q. Which of the modes of punishment used in this prison do you 
consider the most severe? 

A. I consider the yoke. 

Q. Which is the most dreaded by the convict? 

A. So far as I have observed I should think the yoke. 

Q. Have you ever known any evil effects to arise from either of 
these modes of punishment? 

A. I have not this time. 

Q. Have you known any evil effects to a convict from either of 
these modes of punishment? 

A. I have from the shower bath. The case was in 1843; a con- 
vict from the hame shop was punished by me by the shower bath, 
about six pails full. He was a rugged, healthy man to all appear- 
ances, and had not before this complained. The day was pretty 
warm; I gave him six pails full; he went back to the shop and com- 
menced shivering, looking blue, more so than when I first took him 



156 [AsSEMELY 

out. He came up to me about two hours after and complained that 
his head ached, and requested to be excused from further work. I 
excused him. The next morning when he came down to the shop I 
found him unable to work, and reported him to the hospital. He 
went there and remained two or three days, and finally recovered. 
I saw him in the hospital and thought he would not live; and I no- 
tified the warden then if he required me to punish them in this way 
I should resign. 

Q. What would you consider an improvement on the present 
modes of punishment? 

A. The cat, used with discretion, both for the discipline and health 
of the convicts. 

Q. Do you believe that there would be less punishments inflicted if 
the cat was used. 

A. I do, sir. 

Q. Do you know of any instance where presents have been made 
by any contractor, or his agent, to any keeper in this prison? 

A. I do not. 

Q. What effects do you think are produced by the change of offi- 
cers, upon the discipline of the prison, as have occurred since you 
first came here in 1836? 

A. I think a change is productive of bad effects. New keepers 
do not understand the business, nor the habits and tricks of convicts, 
and in every case where a keeper is changed it produces irregularity 
and laxity of discipline. 

Q. What do you think of the system of giving tasks to the con- 
victs, to perform so much per day? 

A. I think it a bad system, for some men can perform their task in 
two-thirds of a day, arid others are not able to do their task in all 
day, and produces dissatisfaction among those who cannot perform 
it; and sometimes punishments are inflicted on this account, and 
they complain that the punishment is unjust, as they work as busy 
as the can all day. 

Henry Underwood, sworn: 

Q. Were you formerly agent of the State Prison, at Auburn, if 
so, state and during w r hat period? 

A. I was from 8th of January, 1840, to March 1, 1850. 

Q. During the time you w 7 ere agent, did the prison support itself? 

A It did, I mean it would pay all ordinary expenses. 

Q. Were any extraordinary expenses incurred during your term 
of office? 

A. There were. 



No. 20.] 157 

Q. What were they? 

A. Building a shop, enlarging wall, setting boiler, &c. 

Q. Did you resign your office as agent, and why? 

A I did, for the reason, of the difference of opinion between the 
Inspectors and myself, in relation to the labor of men on the shoe 
contract. During my office there were brought from Sing Sing to 
this prison, some 13 or 14 convicts, who wore put upon the shoe 
contract of E. P. Ross; shortly after they came, I learned that an 
arrangement had been made with Mr. Wells, or Mr. Comstock, In- 
spectors, that the charge of these men should be 50 cents per day. 
I claimed under the contract, the only legal contract I knew of, that 
they should be charged at 65J cents per day. They claimed that 
they had the right to let them at such price as they saw fit, for the 
best interests of the State. I declined to let them at 50 cents per 
day, and charged them all the time I was agent at the contract price, 
and the disagreement in regard to their rule, was the main cause of 
my resignation. 

Q. Who was your successor? 

A. Benjamin Ashby. * 

Q. During your term of office, was there any difficulty in regard 
to the price per day of the convicts with the contractors, if so, state 
what it was? 

A. There was, as a general rule, when I sent a man to a shop, I 
directed the keeper to charge him as a full price man. The con- 
tractors would sometimes complain, that, altho' they were able bod- 
ied men they were not doing a full day's work. I contended that if 
the convict was able bodied, he should be charged according to the 
contract, as a full price man; some of the contractors claimed that 
unless a man could do a certain quantity of work, he was not a full 
pay man, and differences of opinion arose between myself and the 
contractors; frequently upon this point. # 

1 Sept. 23d. 

Q. What is your opinion of the modes of punishments now in use 
in this prison? 

A. I think the present modes are not as good as the cat. My 
opinion is formed from what 1 have learned from the keepers and 
warden. I have known instances where convicts have been in the 
hospital from the effects of showering. I mean, I have been so in- 
formed, and while I was agent. 

Q. Do you know of any case where any presents have been of- 
ered or given, by any contractor, or his agent, or foreman, to any 
officer of this prison, or to either of the Inspectors? 



1 58 [Assembly 

A. There was one case, in which I considered that a present was 
indirectly offered me, while agent, by a contractor. The circumstan- 
ces were as follows: There was a difference of opinion, as to what 
price certain men upon a contract should be charged, and the con- 
tractor told me that he always stood by his friends, and intimated 
that one or two hundred dollars would be no object to him, if the mat- 
ter couM be arranged as he desired. My reply was, that whatever 
my duty was, I should do without fear or reward. This is the only 
case that has come to my knowledge. 

Q. Was there in your opinion, when you resigned the office of 
agent of this prison, funds enough belonging to the prison, to satisfy 
all demands then existing against the prison? 

A. There was, unless the judgment obtained by Eleazer Hills, 
against the State, be considered a claim or demand against this 
prison. This judgment was for $2,250. 

Adam Miller sworn: 

Q. Are you a contractor of this prison; if so, state what shop? 

A. I am, in the tool-shop, and have been since September 1, 
1848. 

Q. Has there ever been any difficulty between you and the agent 
of the prison at any time; if so, with whom? 

A. There has been with agents Underwood and Ashby. 

Q. What were they? 

A. They were mostly in regard to shop-room and conveniences, 
and men who we thought belonged to us, but were put on other con 
tracts. 

Q. Who were the Inspectors when you first became contractor? 

A. Spencer, Gedney and Comstock. 

Q. How many agents have had charge of this prison since you 
became contractor? s* 

A. Four: Gridley, CJnderwood, Ashby and Pomeroy. tyn+J) Oo$As)AA 

Q. How many wardens during the same time? ' 

A. Three: Porter, Tyler and Sunderlin. 

Q. When was Porter removed from the office of warden? 

A. I think in January, 1849. 

Q. Do you know the cause of the removal of Mr. Porter? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Were complaints made to the Inspectors about him? 

A. I think there were, signed by myself and others of the con- 
tractors. 

Q. Do you know of any personal appeal being made to any In- 
spector for his removal? 

A. I don't recollect that there was. 



No. 20.] 159 

Q. Do you know of any offers being made to the Inspectors, or 
either of them, as a consideration for his removal? 
A. I do not of my own knowledge. 

Q. Do you know of any presents being made by any contractor 
to either of the Inspectors'? 
A. I do not. 

Q. Have you heard or learned from any Inspector that he or they 
have received any consideration or present for the removal of Mr. 
Porter, or any other officer of the prison? 

A. I think I have not. 

Q. Have you any good reason to believe that any Inspector has 
received any consideration for the removal of Mr. Porter or any other 
officer of this prison? 

A. I have. 

Q. Is your belief founded upon the statements of persons other 
than the officers of the prison? 

A. It is. 

Q. Have you heard or learned from any person that any sum of 
money or property was solicited of such person to be paid or given 
to either of the Inspectors to secure the removal of E. L. Porter 
from the office of warden of this prison ; if so, givet he name and oc- 
casion? 

A. I have no recollection on the subject. 

Q. Were you present at the biddings for the cooper contract in 
1850? 

A. I was, and was a bidder. 

Q. Who was the agent? 

A. Eenj. Ashby. 

Q. Did you learn from the agent any terms and conditions in re- 
gard to said contract before the bidding was declared off. 

A. I did. 

Q. Were these conditions in writing ? 

A. The clerk of the prison read from a writing, I think. 

Q. Who was the successful bidder, and what was the terms? 

A. Philip R. Freeoff, at 61^ cents per day. 

Q. What was your bid? 

A. 56 T 3 ¥ cents per day. There were two bids at 60| cents. 

Q. In the conditions and terms as stated by the agent and clerk 
at the time of opening the bids was there any provision for waiters 
and keepers at less pay than the bid. 

A. There was not, as I understood. The agent was enquired of, 
if keepers would be let at a less price. He said they would not, 



160 [Assembly 

and also infoimed the bidders present, that they must expect convict 
labor and not outside labor; and I afterwards learned that in the con- 
tract, as executed, there was a provision allowing the contractor and 
keeper a waiter to every twelve men on the contract at 30 cents per 
day, and that such convicts were to be charged in proportion to the 
amount of labor to be performed each day; and I should think a con- 
tract made in this way, worth to the contractor from $5,000 to 
$8,000 more than if let according to the bid as stated at the time of 
opening the bids. 

Alonzo Forbes, a discharged convict, sworn, being interrogated, 
answered: 

Q. How old are you, how long have you been in prison, and 
when discharged? 

A. Nineteen years old; been in prison 3 years; discharged this 
morning, September 23, 1851. 

Q. In what shop have you been? 

A. The shoe shop. 

Q. Did you have a certain quantity of work to be performed each 
day, and could you perform it easily? 

A. I did, and could perform it easily. 

Q. Did you do any over- work? 

A. Very little. 

Q. Did you receive any pay for it? 

A. I did not. 

Q. Have you any complaints to make of your treatment? 

A. I have not, in any particular. 

Q. Where did you learn the trade of a shoemaker? 

A. In this prison. 

Q. Did you come certified as a shoemaker; if so, why? 

A. I did, because I wished to learn that trade. 

Q. What has been the state of your health since you have been 
prison? 

A. It has been good with the exception of two days and a half. 

Q. Have you been an able bodied man since you have been in 
prison? 

A. I have. 

Q. Were you a full pay or a half-pay man. 

A. The first year I was a j pay man, and the last two years a 
full pay man. 

Q. How many pair of peg kip*boots do you consider a full days 
work? 

A. Two pair. 



No. 20.] 161 

Q. Have convicts ever been punished in your shop for not per- 
forming a certain amount per day? 

A. There have. Three or four cases I recollect. 

Q. Have you heard of any unusual or severe punishments in the 
shop where you worked? 

A. I have. In the summer of 1850 Phineas Henderson was pun- 
ished so severely with the yoke and shower bath, that he was sent to 
the hospital and died in a few days. 

George E. Baker, one of the committee, sworn. 

Q. Have you examined the hospital register, and do you find the 
death of Henderson noticed ? 

A. I have, and find that he died Sept. 19, 1850, of dysentery. 

Q. Have you examined the records of punishment, and do you find 
that Henderson was punished previous to his death ? 

A. I have, but do not find that he was punished at any time for 
ten months previous to his death. 

Blanchard Fosgate, recalled. 

Q. Was you physician at the time of Henderson's death, and if 
so, will you state the cause of his death ? 

A. I was. Dysentery. 

Q. Had he any appearance of having been severely punished ? 

A. I did not examine him as to that. 

John P. Hubbard, sworn. 

Q. Are you a keeper in the Auburn prison, if so, in what shop f 

A. I am. In the coopers' shop. 

Q. How long have you been keeper, at present and formerly ? 

A. Since January 14, 1851, at present, and nine years previous 
to 1839. 

Q. How many convicts have you under your charge in your shop 1 

A. 31. 

Q. How do you keep your account of convicts' labor ? 

A. I keep an account of each man's daily work, in a book for 
that purpose. 

Q. Do you keep an account of the work performed by each man 
daily ? 

A. I do. 

Q. How many of your convicts usually performs a full days' work ? 

A. Ten. 

Q, How many jths. 

A. Seven. 

Q. How many §. 

A. Twelve. 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 11 



162 [Assembly 

Q. Have you any men in your shop for whose labor you make no 
charge against the contractor ? 

A. I have one employed in cleaning the shop who is called a 
waiter. 

Q. Who is the other one, and what does he do ? 

A. The helper; he distributes the materials to the men. I charge 
him at 30 cents per day. 

Q. Is there any particular amount of work required of your full 
pay men, for a day's labor, also of your | men, also of your -J pay 
men ? 

A. There is. I require of full pay men 2 barrels per day, j pay 
men 9 barrels per week, and J pay men 6 barrels per week. 

Q. Do your full pay men ever perform more than this amount ? 

A. They do. Some of them have made as many as 16 barrels per 
week. 

Q. Do the j pay men make more than 9 barrels per week, or the 
\ pay men more than 6 per week ? 

A. They do not. 

Q. Is there any leisure time allowed the j and \ pay men, after 
their work is done ? 

A. There is ; oftentimes the f and \ pay men get their work 
done, some of them by Friday at 4 o'clock P. M., and others by 
Saturday at noon. 

Q. Do the full pay have any leisure time ? 

A. They do, they generally get through by Saturday noon. 

Q. Do you ever require of them, more than the above amounts ? 

A. I do not. But where full pay men do more than their week's 
work they do it voluntarily. 

Q. How are the convicts occupied after their work is done as 
above stated ? 

A. Up to August they were generally allowed to manufacture 
little trinkets for themselves, but since then it has been put a stop to 
and their leisure time is usually employed in reading or doing no- 
thing. 

Q. By whose instructions do you allow them any leisure time ? 

A. By the warden's. 

Q. By whose instructions do you charge them \ and j pay men ? 

A. The agent's. 

Q. Who instructed you to not make any charge of the waiter ? 

A. The agent. 

Q. Are any of the j or J pay men able-bodied, if so what pro- 
portion ? 



tfo„ 20.] 163 

A. There are, five of the f men are able bodied, and 7 of the | 
pay men. 

Q. What is the reason, in your judgment, the able bodied j and 
\ pay men are unable to perform as much labor as a full pay man ? 

A. From inexperience. 

Q. What punishments have you inflicted ? 

A. Yoke and shower bath. 

Q. What is your opinion as to these modes of punishment % 

A. I think but very little of them. 

Q. W 7 hat is your objection ? 

A. I think they injure more than the cat, and occasion more loss 
of time. 

Gilbert F. Shankland sworn. 

Q. Are you a keeper in the Auburn State Prison ? 

A. I am ? 

Q. How long have you been keeper ? 

A. Since April 1, 1851. 

Q. In what shop ? 

A. The west Brussels weave shop. 

Q. In what labor are the convicts under your charge employed ? 

A. The most of them in weaving; the rest in winding ? 

Q. How many convicts have you under your charge ? 

A. 36. 

Q. Have you any half pay men, if so how many, and how many 
full pay men at weaving ? 

A. 5 J pay men, 2 j pay, and 20 full pay. 

Q. Are the full pay, J pay, and f pay men engaged in the same 
kind of work ? 

A. They are. 

Q. Who decides whether these convicts shall be one-half, three- 
fourths, or full pay? 

A. The agent. When a man comes in he is charged for the first 
three months as a full pay man; if after that he cannot weave four 
yards per day, he is charged at what he does in proportion. I am 
instructed not to place any man below full pay without the orders of 
the agent 

Q. Are there any able bodied men among the three-fourth and 
one-half pay men? 

A. Some of them are. 

Q. W T hnece arises their inability to perform a full day's work? 

A. Want of skill, or activity. 

Q. How many winders have you in your shop? 



164 [Assembly 

A. Five; for whom I charge 19 cents per day. 

Q. What other men have you? 

A. One convict foreman, for whom I charge 19 cents per day; one 
waiter, for whom I charge the same price. Two of my men are in 
the State shop at present. 

Q. Are the winders able-bodied men, any of them? 

A. I should consider one of them able-bodied. 

Q. What mode of punishment do you use? 

A. The shower bath, yoke and dungeon 

Q. Which do you use as the most severe punishment? 

A. It depends upon the constitution of the convict. 

Q. What punishment would you substitute for these? 

A. I don't know of any, unless it be the cat. 

Q. Would you recommend the substitution of the cat? 

A. I Would, for the reason that the yoke has the tendency to 
break down a man and use him up; and I think the same of the 
shower bath. 

Sept. 24, 1851. 

William Brown sworn: 

Q. Have you been a keeper in the Auburn State prison ; if so, 
when? 

A. I have, from 1st Feb. 1848, to Jan. 15, 1851; five months in 
the spin-shop, and the rest of the time in the State shop. 

Q. Please state any cases of severe or inhuman punishment that 
came to your knowledge while you was keeper ? 

A. The case was of John Jackson, in October, I think, of 1849; 
he was in the spin shop, of which Van Pelt was keeper. I heard 
Van Pelt say, in a conversation with Kennedy, a keeper, one Sun- 
day morning, at the prison, some two months after the first punish- 
ment, I should think; that when Jackson went to his cell he called 
out " sorrel top;" he took him to the south wing after he had got 
Watson and Eggleston, keepers, to help him; he attempted to yoke 
him, but Jackson refused to have the yoke put on, and backed into 
the recess of one of the cells and put himself in a position of defence 
to keep the yoke off, and was saucy and swore he would not have it 
on. That Watson took the yoke and struck Jackson on the arm, 
which caused it to fall down by his side; that Watson told him to 
put down the other arm; he refused, and he then struck that arm 
with the yoke, and it fell down by his side; he said he supposed it 
benumbed it some; the three persons then clinched him and put on 
the yoke. Jackson would not stand up, and they put a rope under 
his arms and threw it over the railing of the gallery above, and tied 



No. 20.] 165 

it so as to keep him on his feet. He also said he kept Jackson in 
the yoke nine hours. I passed the wing several times, and heard 
Jackson cry out during the same day. I did not see him in the 
yoke, but saw him in the dungeon a spell afterwards.* 
This was the substance of the conversation. 

Another case, on or about Oct. 4 1850. I saw a convict by the 
name of Killpatrick, who was understood to have been punished by 
Watson, a keeper, shortly after he was punished. When I saw him 
he was partly running towards where I was. He was so covered 
with blood that I did not recognize him until he got close to me; he 
came staggering up, and could hardly go. I took him by the shoul- 
der and made him sit down. He was covered with blood. His head 
and shoulders appeared to be covered with blood; some was clotted. 
The blood had run down his clothes and hands. I asked him what 
the matter was, and he said keeper Watson, had been pounding him 
in the wing. Keeper Toan about this time came up and ordered 
him to get up. He said he was not able to do so. I then beckoned 
Toan to me, and advised him not to pound Killpatrick any more. 
Toan made no reply, but took him by the shoulder and jerked him 
up on his feet. The convict, as he was coming up, picked up a 
stick, and attempted to strike Toan, but did not hit him. Watson 
then came up and took the convict by the back of the neck, and 
pulled him on his back, and raised his cane to strike. They then 
then pulled him on to his feet, and he refused to go. I advised him 
to go and then he went along with them. I was informed that he 
was in the dungeon nine days. He went from there to the hospital, 
and remained absent from the shop about five weeks. 

I was a keeper during all the times above set forth. 

John Conger, a guard now, saw Killpatrick punished in the wing., 
by Watson, as he says: — 

Q. While you were a keeper, did you inflict any punishments 
upon convicts? 

A. A number of times, but always by putting them in the dun- 
geon, and in no other way. 

Q. In the cases you have stated, have you known any complaints 
ever made to the wardens, agent, or Inspectors? 

A. I have not. 

Q, Were you ever a witness of the infliction of punishments upon 
convicts of a severe and unusual character, other than you have sta- 
ted? 

A. I have never seen any punishment by shower baths, but I have 

*The official record of the prison shows that Jackson on the 8th day of October, 1849, 
was punished by the yoke 6 hours, and 5 days in the dungeon. 



166 [Assembly 

seen eonvicts in th-? joke several times. I saw one in the yoke in 
the wing; I don't know his name, who I thought from his appear- 
ance to be severely punished, but I don't know how long he had 
been in the yoke. 

Q. Have you heard or learned from any officer of the prison that 
such officer has been offered or has received any money or other pro- 
perty as a consideration for the removal of or appointment of any 
officer in the prison? 

A. I have, as follows: Jesse S. Eggleston, a keeper, paid keeper 
Hyde $50 for resigning in his favor, as Eggleston stated to me. 
This was in the spring of 1849. Keeper Rhoades stated to me that 
he paid $20, the costs in a suit brought by Ketchel vs. Beebe, and 
I understood that Ketchel said he would settle with Beebe if the In- 
spectors would appoint Rhoades, and Rhoades would pay $20. 
Bebee, who was then a keeper, went away, and Rhoades was ap- 
pointed. I know of no other cases. 

Q. Have you heard or learned from any contractor, that such con- 
tractor had paid or contributed any money or property, as a conside- 
ration for the appointment or removal of any officer of this prison T 

A. 1 have not. 

Q. Have you any fact relative to the general management of this 
prison, which you wish to communicate to this committee; if so, 
please state? 

A. I have. Lee Munion, a weaver, was taken sick, as near as I 
can recollect, a year ago last fall, on Friday night; they did not 
send him to the hospital until the next morning. Then he was sent 
back to the shop, and remained during the day, (Saturday) Sunday 
he went again to the hospital, and on Monday morning he came 
back to the shop again, and he was much worse, and objected to go- 
ing to the hospital again as they did nothing for him, I wrote a 
letter to the physician calling his attention specially to his case, and 
sent him up again. The physician told me that when Munion came 
up on Monday morning, he thought he was drunk, he staggered so. 
He remained in the hospital, and I was told by the chaplain that he 
died in four days afterwards. The next week the physician came 
through the shop, and in a conversation I had with him, he said he 
was not aware Munion had been to the hospital until the morning he 
got my letter. Another case was where a man by the name of Win.' 
Jewett cutoff his thumb. They would not do it up at the hospital, 
as he said. He came to the State shop. The warden ordered the 
keeper, to keep him at work turning a wheel with one baud, as a 
punishment for cutting his thumb off He worked part of two days, 
and after it got so bad that he complained, I wrote to the hospital 



No. 20.] 167 

keeper to know what I should do with him. I had orders from the 
warden to send him to the hospital; I did so, and he came back with 
his hand lone up. He grew worse daily, although I sent him twice 
a day to the hospital after this, and on Saturday I told the warden 
that unless something was done for him he would die. Sunday 
morning he went to the hospital again, but was locked up in his cell 
after meeting, by me, I think. Monday morning or Sunday night, in 
the night, he was taken to the hospital and died on Monday after- 
noon, as I suppose, from mortification of the thumb. 

Then there is the case of Ward, a convict under my charge, who 
was taken sick about the 1st of January, 1850. I sent him to the 
hospital every day from Monday to Thursday, and came back every 
day; Thursday he went to the hospital and they kept him there. 
What I want to show is, that in my opinion, if the man had been 
cared for when he first went to ihe hospital, he would have soon re- 
covered: he appeared to have a bad cold and a fever, Then the case 
of Ballentine, about three days under my charge, who had the con- 
sumption, and had been kept in his shop some six months after he 
was unable to work ; so Kennedy, the keeper of the weave shop, 
where he worked, told me; he was not required to work in the weave 
shop for that time before he came under my charge. He was sent 
to the hospital by me, and died several weeks after. In this case I 
think he was not properly treated. 

Joseph Nichols sworn: 

Q. Have you been a convict in the Auburn prison; if so, how 
long, and when was you discharged? 

A. I have for ten years, and was discharged Sept. 24, 1851*. 

Q. How have you been treated since you have been in prison? 

A. On the whole very well. 

Q. Has there been any change in the treatment since you have 
been here? 

A. There has; I have been treated better for several years past 
than formerly.* 

Foster Ames sworn: 

Q. Have you been a convict in the Auburn prison ; if so, how 
long, and when was you discharged. 

A. I have been in Auburn prison two years and three months, 
and in Clinton prison one year and nine months, and was discharge 
ed Sept. 24, 1851, this morning. 

Q. How have you been treated in prison? 

A. Pretty well. 
•Note. — This msa to evidently insane. 



168 [Assembly 

Q. Have you been punished and how? 

A. I have once, by having my hair shaved off and by ball and 
chain for about one week, for attempting to escape. 

Q. In what shop have you been? 

A. In no shop, but I have been in the kitchen while here. 

Q. Has the food furnished the convicts at all times been of a 
good and wholesome character? 

A. Generally speaking, it has. 

George Carey, sworn. 

Q. Are you a contractor in the Auburn prison; if so, on what 
contract? 

A. I am, on the tool contract. 

Q. How long have you been such contractor? 

A. Since September 1, 1848. 

Q. "Who was agent at the time of making this contract? 

A. Abraham Gridley. 

Q. Who have been agents since? 

A. Henry Underwood, Benjamin Ashby and Charles W. Poraeroy. 

Q. Who was warden at that time? 

A. E. L. Porter. 

Q. Who succeeded Porter, and when? 

A. James E. Tyler, in the winter of 1848 and 1849, and the 
present warden succeeded Tyler. 

Q. Were there general complaints among the contractors against 
Mr. Porter as warden? 

A. There were before he left. 

Q. What was the general character of the complaints? 

A. That he did not enforce the rules established in regard to days' 
works, and Lis general inefficiency. 

Q. Were any petitions signed by the contractors, presented to the 
Inspectors for his removal? 

A. There was one that I recollect of. 

Q. Did you have any conversation with either of the Inspectors 
as to his removal? 

A. I did not. 

Q. Do you know of any offers being made to the Inspectors, or 
either of them, for his removal? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Do you know of any presents being made by any contractor, 
or his foreman or agent, to either of the Inspectors, since you have 
been contractor? 

A. I do not. 



No. 20.] 169 

Q. Have you heard or learned from any Inspector, that he or they 
were offered or had received any consideration or present for the 
removal of any officer of this prison? 

A. I have not, 

Q. Have you heard or learned from any person, that any sum of 
money or property was procured of such person to be given to either 
of the Inspectors, to secure the removal of E. L. Porter from the 
office of warden of this prison? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Have you a well grounded belief that any sum of money or 
property, has been paid or given to any inspector, to secure the re- 
moval of E. L. Porter, from the office of warden of this prison? 

A. Judging from what took place at a meeting of the contractors, 
and from what was said to me privately at the meeting, and after, 
I supposed that there was a sum of money nearly raised and paid to 
Inspector Wells, for the purpose of removing Mr. Porter. 

Q. Please state what took place at that meeting of the contractors? 

A. According to my recollection, a petition was got up, or pre- 
pared to be got up, for the removal of Mr. Porter, and the appoint- 
ment of Mr. Tyler as warden. There was nothing said publicly at 
the meeting about raising any sum of money, or paying any sum; a 
gentleman at this meeting told me privately, how he thought this 
matter could be brought about; this gentleman was not a contractor, 
and he seemed to know about it more than others, at least had more to 
say about it. This gentleman was Erastus Case. I supposed that 
he was to do the business. After the meeting, Mr. Douglass told 
me that he supposed our shop would have to pay about $ 50. I 
replied that I would not pay a cent, and never have paid any thing. 
Mr. Case came into my shop several times, and talked with me 
about the discipline of the prison, and asked me how matters went 
there. This was after Mr. Porter was removed, and Tyler appointed. 
The subject of money was not talked of openly at this meeting. 

Sept. 24, 1851. 

On motion of Mr. Graham, W. B. Goddard was appointed mar- 
shal to this committee for the time being. 

Josiah Barber, sworn: 

Q. Are you a contractor in the Auburn Prison; if so, on what 
contract, and how long? 

A. I am; on the carpet contract, and have been a contractor for 
22 years. 

Q. When was Mr. Porter removed from the office of warden, and 
who succeeded him? 



1*70 [Assembly 

A. I don't recollect the time; about 2 years ago, and J. E. Tyler 
succeeded him. 

Q. Were complaints made to the Inspectors against Mr. Porter? 

A. I recollect the contractors coming before the Inspectors at their 
meeting, but think they were not heard. 

Q. Do you know of any personal appeals being made to the In- 
spectors for the removal of Mr. Porter? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Did you learn from any Inspector previous to his removal that 
he would be removed? 

A. I did not. 

Q. Do you know of any money, property, or other thing being 
offered to the Inspectors, or either of them, as a consideration for his 
removal? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Have you heard or learned from any Inspector that he or they 
have received any consideration for his removal? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Do you know of any presents being made by any contractor 
to either of the Inspectors, or to any person in behalf of either of 
them? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Do you know the cause of his removal? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Have you any good reason to believe that any Inspector has 
received any consideration for the removal of Mr. Porter or any oth- 
er officer of this prison? 

A. I have not 

Q. Were you called upon to contribute to a fund to be used in 
procuring his removal? 

A. I have not been. 

Q. Did you ever call upon Adam Miller, or any other member of 
that firm, and ever state to him that a sum of money was necessary 
to be raised to procure the removal of Mr. Porter? 

A. I recollect of being in their office, and talking about some- 
thing of the kind, and that was the last I thought of it or heard of 
it. 

Q. Are the particular terms and stipulations of the contracts 
entered into by bidders made known to the bidders at the time 
the bids are declared off, and the contracts let? 

A. They are not, but so far as I understand, the bidders make 
specifications and terms in their bids. 

Sept. 25, 1851. 



No. 20.] 171 

James E. Tyler, sworn. 

Q. Have you been wardea of the Auburn prison; if so, during 
what time? 

A. I have, from January, 1849, to April, 1851. I was appointed 
to fill the place occasioned by the removal of Mr. Porter to Sing 
Sing. 

Q. Did you learn from the Inspectors the cause of the removal of 
Mr. Porter? 

A. I never heard them say what they removed him for. 

Q. Have you heard or learned of any of the then contractors of 
this prison, that they or either of them contributed any money or 
other property for the purpose of procuring his removal? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Have you heard or learned from either of the Inspectors of this 
prison, that they had, or were to receive any present or presents for 
his removal? 

A. I never have. 

Q. Have you any knowledge that any Inspector of this prison has 
received any present from any contractor for any purpose whatever? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Do you know of any other person who has paid any money, 
or has made any present to either of the Inspectors for the purpose 
of procuring the removal of Mr. Porter, or for any other purpose. 

A. I do not. 

Q. Have you at any time heard any of the contractors of this 
prison say that they had paid, or that it was necessary to raise or 
pay a certain or any amount of money, in order to procure the re- 
moval of Mr. Porter? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Have you ever heard any conversation of any of the contrac- 
tors upon the subject of raising money or a fund for the purpose of 
procuring the removal of Mr. Porter? 

A. I have nothing, except since the committee has been here in 
session. 

Q. Whilst you were warden were complaints made to you by 
keepers or other officers, of unusual or severe punishments being in- 
flicted upon the convicts? 

A. Yes ; in three or four instances Mr. William Brown com- 
plained to me that he had heard or learned that certain convicts had 
been severely punished. 

Q. Do you recollect the death of Phineas Henderson in 1853? 

A. I do. 



172 [Assembly 

Q. State particularly what punishments were inflicted upon him. 
A. I should think he was punished some three or four months be- 
fore his death. I was present at the punishment and directed it. 
Underwood was his keeper, and punished him. He was very refrac- 
tory in his shop, and drew a knife and said he would kill his keeper. 
I was sent for by the keeper. I went to the shop and he was very 
turbulent, and swore a good deal. I ordered him to come out from 
where he was; he refused, and swore he would kill the first man that 
came to him. I told him he would come out or I should use means 
to bring him out. I walked up to him, he drew his knife, I drew 
my cane and struck him across his arm or hand, and the blow 
knocked the knife out of his hand. I brought him out of the shop 
and ordered the keeper to put the yoke on him. He did so, and kept 
him in the yoke, to the best of my recollection, about three hours. 
He was then ordered to the dungeon, as he was ugly and made a 
good many threats. I can't say whether I kept him 24 or 36 hours 
there. While in the dungeon I talked with him once or twice, and 
reasoned with him. He appeared very much excited. The second 
or third time I visited him in the dungeon I took the keeper w T ith 
me to take him out. He then said if I came into his cell he would 
cut me open. He had a knife with him. I then sent Watson, one 
of the keepers, to the machine shop to get a bar of iron 8 or 10 feet 
long, and heat the end of it. He done so, and brought it to me. I 
then opened the door and told him to lay down his knife and walk 
out. He refused I told Watson to put the bar against him and 
hold him. When he saw the iron going at him he cried out that 
he would give up, and threw down his knife. He came out; I then 
put the yoke on and stayed with him about three-fourths of an hour, 
and talked with him. He cried, and said he was sorry. I was sat- 
isfied that he would behave himself, and ordered the yoke off and 
sent him to his shop. His clothes were burned in two or three pla- 
ces by the hot iron, but his skin was not burned. He had been talk- 
ing in his shop and making a good deal of disturbance. I don't 
know what the keeper said to him before I came to the shop. 

Q. How many times during the six months previous to his death, 
do you think he was punished? 

A I have no recollection of any time except the above. 

Q. Did he complain of any injuries to his health from this pun- 
ishment? 

A. Some short time after this punishment, as I was visiting the 
cells as was my custom every Sunday usually, to go into the wing 
after dinner and remain from 3 to 5 hours, to hear any complaints 



No. 20.] 173 

the convicts had to make, Henderson stated to me, that the punish- 
ment was the best thing that had ever happened to him, that he had 
had no trouble since, but had got along well enough, that he had 
given up his plots, and that I had not punished him half enough for 
his offence. 

Q. In what manner were the keepers required to report punish- 
ments to you, and when? 

A. In writing, and immediately after it was inflicted, and whether 
I was present or not, such punishments were required to be reported, 
hut sometimes the reports were not handed in to me until 2 or 3 
days afterwards. 

Q. Whose duty was it to record the punishments reported? 

A. It was my duty, and usually done by me. 

Q. Have you any distinct recollection that the punishment of 
Henderson was reported to you? 

A. I have none, but presume it was. 

Prison record of punishments produced. 

Q. Is this the book of records of punishments of the Auburn 
prison? 

A. It is. 

Q. Is there any record of Henderson being punished for a year 
previous to his death, in that book? 

A. I do not find any. 

Benjamin Ashby sworn: 

Q. Have you been agent of the Auburn prison ; if so, for what 
period? 

A. T have, from March 1, 1850, to April 1, 1851. 

Q. Were complaints made to you in regard to the quality and 
quantity of provisions furnished by you as agent in 1850? 

A. 1 don't know there were; the physician said he thought the 
flour furnished a certain period was not as good as it would have 
been if I had bought wheat and had it ground. I consulted Dr. 
Clark, one of the Inspectors, in regard to it, he said it was good 
flour. The keeper of the kitchen, Richardson, who had been in the 
kitchen a number of years, said it was good flour and made good 
bread. 

Q. In your last report you stated that the indebtedness of the pri- 
son was $4,600, and predicted that it would be out of debt on the 
1st of March, 1851; yet the present agent states the debt of 
the prison on the 1st of April, 1851, to be $11,000. Please explain 
how this occurs? 

A. I have no doubt this was all paid, and the present indebted- 
ness stated by the present agent has accrued since my report; I 



174 [ASSEMBLX 

meant to say that the particular debts then existing would be paid, 
but did not mean to include debts that would afterwards accrue, and 
in speaking of expenses, I meant ordinary expenses. 

Philos G. Cook sworn: 

Q. Have you been chaplain of the Auburn prison; if so, during 
what period? 

A. I have, from Jan. 1848, to Feb. 1st, 1851. 

Q. Do you remember the case of Phineas Henderson who died 
in this prison? 

A. I do, and remember of his dying. 

Q. Please state what you know of his treatment during the few 
months previous to his death? 

A. I learned from him and from officers of the prison that he was 
frequently punished, and generally as I understand for refusing to do 
the amount of work which was exacted from him by the foreman 
and keeper of his shop. He always alleged that the amount required 
at this time was more than had ever been required before, and more 
than he could do without injuring his health; that he w r as willing to 
do a reasonable amount. Subsequently to this time he alleged that 
his health was impaired by over-work. I learned from officers and 
also from convicts in the shop, on being required to perform this 
amount of work he resisted, and to enforce compliance he was threat- 
ened with punishment, and required by the keeper to come out and 
be yoked. That on his refusal the warden and some of the keepers 
were called in. The warden ordered him to come out, and if he did 
not he would shoot him, he having a revolver in his hand. He told 
him to shoot, he would rather die so than kill himself by over-work. 
He was at length compelled by force to have the yoke put on, which 
he wore as I was informed until he fell on the floor. 

Subsequent to this he was put in the dark cell and kept for, I 
don't know how long, but my impression is for 2 or 3 days, after 
which he was ordered out to be yoked again. He refused to leave 
the cell, saying that he was not guilty of the charge at that time 
brought against him, and that he was willing to comply with their 
requirements, if they would not yoke him. The warden was again 
called, and told him if he did not come out immediately to be yoked 
he should die in the cell. On coming out the warden struck him 
with his cane, and repeated the blows several times as he followed 
him to the place where he was to be yoked. At this time he wore 
the yoke until he fell down. I heard of his being punished several 
times very much as above, in a similar manner. He stated to me 
also several times that he thought his health had been seriously im- 



No. 20.] 175 

paired, and his constitution broken down ; that he believed they 
meant to kill him. On his sick bed he complained I think that he 
had been prevented from coming to the hospital as soon as he ought 
to have come ; that he had been very sick lor several days, and was 
afraid he should die. I do not remember that he at this time ad- 
verted to his treatment as the cause of his sickness. His mind 
seemed to be specially occupied with anxiety for the future. This 
last conversation was had on the morning of the day he died. I 
conversed with him several times during the time he was in the hos- 
pital, which was I think four days. I did not allow men in the hos- 
pital to make complaints to me respecting treatment of officers. 

Q. How long previous to his death were these punishments in- 
flicted as you understood ? 

A. My impression is that they all must have occurred within three 
or four months previous to that event. 

Q. Were there any other cases of severe punishment that came to 
your knowledge during the time you was chaplain, if so, state how 
many ? 

A. There were. I frequently heard of cases that I deemed unne- 
cessarily severe, and sometimes brutal. When I say I heard of them 
I mean that I heard it not only from convicts but from the officers 
themselves, who were eye witnesses ; I now distinctly remember the 
names of but a few, among them is the case of Ralph Darrow of 
the machine shop ; he was sent by his keeper to the clothes room to 
get some better clothes ; the keeper in charge of the room either 
refused to give him anv or gave him such as Darrow said did not 
fit him ; I do not remember which; when Darrow expressed his dis- 
satisfaction the keeper ordered him to start for his shop immediately 
and not open his head again. Darrow started as ordered but went 
rather slowly towards the door, still expressing his dissatisfaction; 
The keeper followed him to the head of the stairs, struck him with 
his cane over the head, and ordered a guard standing* by to knock 
him down. He did so, and several blows were inflicted upon his 
head while on the floor, a deep wound was inflicted and Darrow 
was so much injured that he was carried to the hospital, where he 
remained several days, during much of the time he complained much 
of pain in his head, and was evidently very much injured. In refer- 
ence to this case Darrow's keeper informed me that Darrow was one 
of the best convicts he had in his shop; that he did not believe he 
ought to have been punished on this occasion. He subsequently re- 
covered so as to go to w T ork again, but I think must have been per- 
manently injured by it. This case seemed to me the more aggrava- 



176 [Assembly 

ting on the part of the keeper, from the fact that Darrow did not 
offer resistance. 

I recollect, also, the case of Wm. A. McKinney, who died in 
February, 1850, he was an invalid, and for several months before his 
death, in my opinion, and in the opinion of several other officers 
with whom I had conversation in relation to him, totally unfit to 
labor, and needed for several weeks before his death, nursing in the 
hospital; but this was refused him, chiefly, as I was informed, by 
his keeper, who overruled the physician in relation to his case. He 
was kept at work in the shop, and refused any change of diet, until 
he came into the hospital, about ten days before his death. He fre- 
quently stated to me previous to his entering the hospital, that he 
needed a change of diet, and respite from work. He believed if he 
could have the advantage of proper medical treatment he should re- 
cover, but that he feared he should die without it, while in the hos- 
pital he was frequently charged by the keeper of the hospital with 
feigning sickness, and ordered not to lie in bed so much, and threat- 
ened if he disobeyed this order, that he should be sent out of the 
hospital, as he and others informed me at the time. This order was 
repeated within two or three days of his death. On the morning of 
the day he died when the physician came in McKinney was sitting 
in a chair by the stove. The physician, as was his custom, on first 
taking his seat at his table, called for those patients whom he sup- 
posed able to come to him, and among them for McKinney ; the 
waiter in the hospital informed him that McKinney was not able to 
walk; the physician ordered the waiter to assist him to the table; 
he did so but as soon as he took his seat the physician observed that 
he was dying, and ordered him to be placed in bed, soon after which 
I entered the hospital, he seemed to recognize me but was unable to 
speak and died in about two hours. 

I think this is a case where the police of the prison clearly inter- 
fered with the physician in his duties and overruled him. It was my 
belief also, during the last two years of my connection with the 
prison, that the warden frequently interfered with the physician, and 
overruled him in relation to medical treatment of the convicts, their 
food, clothing, and bedding. Of this the convicts and keepers fre- 
quently complained to me. 

By law, I had free intercourse with the convicts when not at work, 
and while 1 always tried to make them satisfied w T ith their treatment, 
I could not avoid hearing their complaints as I visited them at their 
cells. 



No. 20.] 177 

Sept. 26, 1851. 

Thomas 'Congden sworn. 

Q. Are you one of the instructors in the Auburn Prison, and if so, 
during what time? 

A. I am, and have been for about one and a half years. 

Q. How much time do you devote to your duties? 

A. One and a-half hours in each of five evenings in each week, 

<Q. What branches do you teach? 

A. Reading and writing to all, and arithmetic to the youngest 

Q. How many are you able to teach in one evening? 

A. In the summer time I can teach 30 in an evening; in the win- 
ter, according to the number of lamps afforded, which is about 25. 

Q. About how many different convicts do you devote your atten- 
tion to during the year? 

A. Last year about 100. 

Q. Is there a Sunday school kept in prison, and are you a teacher 
in such school! 

A. There is; and I am one of the teachers. 

Q. How many teachers are there in such school, and how much 
time is devoted to each school? 

A* From 35 to 40 teachers: and we spend from 1| hours to 1} 
hours. This school is kept only nine months per year, owing to the 
absence of the teachers, who are students in the seminary in this 
place. 

Q. Have any complaints been made to you by the convicts in re- 
gard to their treatment generally? 

A. There have, but I have considered it my duty not to listen to 
them. I have generally found that the complaints came from those 
who manifested a troublesome character. The general testimony of 
the well disposed has been on the whole, favorable to their treatment. 

Q. During the time you have been in this prison has there come 
to your knowledge any cases of severe and unusual punishment? 

A. There has not. 

Q. What is your salary? 

A. $150 per year, 

Q. Have you any suggestion to make in regard to the manage- 
ment of the prison in your department? 

A. I have. I could teach at a better advantage if every man 
had a light. There are now about fifty lights to be had for the pur- 
pose of teaching. I think they would be more healthy, quiet and 
orderly if they had lights; and I w r ould advise that every man be 
furnished with a light. 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 12 



178' [Assembly 

Benjamin Rogers sworn. 

Q. Are you one of the instructors of the Auburn Prison, if so, 
for what time have you been such instructor? 

A. I am, and have been for about eight months last past. 

Q. Have you heard the testimony of Thomas Congden, and do yon 
fully concur in his statements? 

A. I have; and fully concur therein. 

James E. Tyler, recalled, and the testimony of P. G. Cook being 
read to him: 

Q. What do you wish to say in regard to the testimony of P. G. 
Cook? 

A. I wish to state that in the case of punishment of Henderson^ 
I had not at any time any pistol in my hand or about me, and made 
no threats against his life; that I did not strike him with a cane or 
any other thing at the time he states. I don't believe he was over- 
worked at any time, but am informed by his keeper and foreman, 
that he got his work done long before night each day, and I know 
the fact that he did so. He was a strong healthy man after his 
punishment, up to the time he went to the hospital. 

1 was not present at the case of Darrow, but Toane, the keeper 
of the clothes room where Darrow came for clothes, told me that 
Darrow came in for clothes; he gave him an old pair of pantaloons;, 
Darrow said he would not have such a pair; Toane told him to take 
them or go back to his shop; Darrow replied he'd be d — d if he 
would, he would have a new pair; Toane then started for him ta 
take him out and Darrow struck him and clinched him, and threw 
him down; a guard came in and took him off of Toane; then Dar- 
row started for the shop, and Toane struck at him with his cane, 
and don't recollect whether Toane said he hit him or not. The 
guard confirmed this statement of Toane. Darrow w T ent to his shop 
and went to work. Darrow got hit in the affray in some way, but 
I am sure he went to the shop. I was sent for and went dow T n, and 
there saw Darrow. There was no blood on him when I saw him. 
I ordered him to the dungeon, I think. 

As to the case of McKinney, I had no control of the physician 
nor ever attempted to interfere with him in any of his duties in any 
particular. 

Q. Did either of the contractors, while you were warden, ever 
make any complaints to you or to the keepers, to your knowledge, 
that any convict was unnecessarily or improperly excused from labor? 

A. I think I have heard complaints several times of this character. 
They thought the convicts were excused by the physician when they 
were able to work. 



No. 20.] 179 

Q. Did you or any of the keepers, to your knowledge, while you 
were warden, ever complain to the physician of his having excused 
convicts unnecessarily or improperly? 

A. I think quite likely I have told the physician that he has been 
deceived by convicts frequently, and I have no doubt the keepers 
have told him the same thing. 

Q. Have you any recollection that you have ever countermanded 
or overruled an order of the physician excusing a convict from 
labor? 

A. I have not, but on the contrary, I have frequently excused 
convicts from labor when the physician, on application to him, did 
not do it. 

Q. Have you any recollection of any case, where in your opinion, 
a convict has been injured permanently either by the amount or 
character of the work he has performed, if so, please state cases? 

A. I don ? t recollect of any such case; I have found men that the 
character of the work did not agree with them. In such cases, on 
consultation with the agent and physician, I have changed his work. 

Q. Do you know of any case in which any contractor or his fore- 
man has complained of, or interfered with the action of the agent, 
warden, or physician in making such changes of labor? 

A. I have no recollection of any particular case, except one in 
the tool shop; but I have no doubt such complaints have occasion- 
ally been made. 

Q. Please state the circumstances in the cose of Kelpatrick. 

A. He was in the tailor shop, and was taken to the shower bath 
by keeper Toane to be punished. When there he refused to take off 
his clothes. The keeper told him unless he did he would take them 
off tor him. The keeper went to take them off, and Kelpatrick 
seized a stick of wood from the wood pile and struck at the keeper, 
then the keeper struck him over the head with his cane. The con- 
vict said he would submit, and went to take his clothes off, but start- 
ed, went into the yard, hallooed murder, and went to Mr. William 
Brown's shop. The keeper followed him, and brought him back to 
the shower bath. I was then sent for. He was taken to the hospi- 
tal, his wounds dressed, which was a cut on the head indicted by 
the blow of the cane. He was taken from there to a cell; there he 
remained four or five days, and was taken from there to the hospital. 
While in the hospital he told me be was very sorry he had got into 
this trouble. He should not if he had not read the Chief, a newspa- 
per, in which it was stated that no officer had a right to shower, 
yoke, or strike him, under any circumstances. Keeper William 



180 [Assembly 

Brown, he said, also told him that they had no right to inflict any 
of these punishments upon him. He said he was sorry for what he 
had done, and from that time he behaved well until he went out. 

Q. Please state the circumstances in the case of John Jackson ? 

A. He was punished for insolence, swearing, &c. He was one of 
the worst men in the prison. His punishment w T as reported to me, 
I think it was 5| hours in the yoke. I saw him in the yoke. I 
have never heard from the keeper who punished him that he was 
struck. I saw him 3 or 4 times while he was in the yoke, at those 
times he swore he would talk when he had a mind to, that nobody 
could stop him, that when he got loose he would kill Van Pelt, and 
several other keepers, if he had an opportunity. He was taken 
from the yoke without having shewn any penitence or yielding in 
the least, taken to the kitchen and fed and then taken to the dun- 
geon. The next morning he complained of being sick and was ta- 
ken to the hospital, where he remained for about a week I think. 
He then acknowledged that he had done wrong, was sorry, agreed 
to do better, and was then taken to his shop. 

Q. Did the former chaplin, Cook, in your opinion interfere with 
the discipline and general management of the prison. 

A. He did very much. He meddled very much with the men, 
made them uneasy, told them they were worked too hard, that the 
keepers and warden were down on them, and making dissatisfaction 
among them. 







STATEMENT 








Of earnings, expenditures, fyc.,for the past ten years. 


Year. 


Earnings. 


Expenditures. 


Appropriations. 


Average N"o. 
of convicts. 


1841 


$84,886 45 


$58,989 78 




689 3 6 d 


1842 


81,349 15 


67,870 79 




697*> 


1843 


47,240 89 


56,509 04 




730 


1844 


56,082 68 


68,107 40 


$5,082 6S 


77 p> 32 


1845 


62,989 50 


53,597 46 




rjQrj'225 
'tf'365 


1846 


56,336 86 


52,483 60 




6453^ 


1847 


49,817 89 


52,196 60 




RQal35 

tJOZ 365 


1848 


44,061 52 


65,739 06 




479^ 


1849 


54,762 76 


56,777 99 




512 


1850 


68,483 75 


71,164 07 




661 


1851 


72,912 05 


88,540 00 




732 



No. 20.] 181 

Dec. mh, 1851. 

C. W. Pomeroy, agent, re-called. 

Q. Do you keep any account of the articles purchased by you on 
credit for the use of the prison? 

A. I keep a memorandum of them, not a regular account book. 

Q. What dees the memorandum contain? 

A. It contains the contract I make, in particular, signed by the 
person contracting with me. 

Q. Does the keeper in the kitchen receive provisions of any per- 
son purchased o;i credit, of which no memorandum is made, or the 
memorandum you keep? 

A. He does. There is a time between feeding pork and beef in 
the fall, when we are not ready to pack, and we receive enough for 
the time being. We buy a good deal out of wagons and sleighs, in 
all shapes. I am not always in the prison, the team may come 
when I am not here. He has been authorized to receive meat at a 
given price per hundred and give a receipt for the same, for the pres- 
ent use. That receipt under those circumstances is presented at the 
office for payment. 

Q. Are such receipts paid when presented? 

A. If due, and funds are on hand, no receipts are given by him 
on time, unless special directions are given by me at the time. In 
some cases I have been unable to pay in consequence of contractors 
failing to pay for convict labor. Men have presented meat here and 
v/anted to have it weighed, and said they had made a bargain with 
the man in the kitchen for it. I have refused to receive, on account 
of his not having special anthority to do so. 

Q. Are there any isolated transactions of persons furnishing pro- 
visions (when no previous contract therefor existed,) to the State 
prison, not noted on the memorandum book kept in the kitchen? 

A. Not to my knowledge. 

Q. From the manner in which the books and accounts for the 
prison are kept, can you tell the amount of current indebtedness at 
any given day past, since you have been in office? 

A. I think I can, or nearly so. 

Q. Please explain why you cannot give it exactly? 

A. I can, except as to all unfinished contracts. 

Q. If the contractors for convict labor in this prison should make 
prompt payment according to the terms of their contracts, could you 
meet all the lawful claims to your knowledge against this prison, as 
they respectively accrue or become due. 

A. I could meet the current expenses of the prison ; I mean the 
ordinary expenses. 



182 [Assemble 

Q. What do you mean by ordinary expenses? 

A. I mean all expenses except for building and extraordinary re- 
pairs. 

Q. What was the total amount of indebtedness of this prison on 
the 30th September, 1851? 

A. $21,319.53, as follows: 

For building materials and labor, $3,160 61 

" mess room, hospital, labor and materials,-- 4,006 28 

" general support,. - — 4,370 70 

To which add balance of, - 9,781 94 

being amount overpaid by agent, as by his monthly accounts ren- 
dered to the Comptroller, will appear. 

Q. What were the available resources of this prison on the 30th 
September, 1851, and what do they consist of? 

A. $3,546.49, and consist of indebtedness from contractors for 
convict labor and job-work, which will more fully appear in my an- 
nual report. 

Q. What is the estimated amount required to complete the new 
mess-room and hospital? 

A. $13,993.72, which, together with what has been already ex- 
pended, will make the cost of the same, $18,000.00. 

Q. Will any appropriation be needed from the State to pay the 
above debt, and to complete the new mess room and hospital; if so ? 
what amount? 

A. There will, to the amount of §31,766.76. I believe, however, 
that the resources of the prison for the next four years, over and 
above i's ordinary support, will reimburse the State the above 
amount, as no more buildings will be required for a considerable 
time to come. 

Q. Are you in the habit of repeating in your monthly accounts of 
cash received, the endorsed notes of contractors; if so, how are they 
negociated for the benefit of the prison? 

A. I report them as cash received when such a transaction occurs. 
Such notes as I have taken have been endorsed by me, and after- 
wards cashed by the bank. The contractors, with one exception, 
have generally paid cash. I do the business the same as was done 
by the late agent. 

Q. Has any thing been lost to the prison by reason of taking such 
notes? 

A. Nothing has been lost since I have been agent, nor do I anti- 
cipate any loss from such notes. 

Q. When you endorse such notes taken by you, do you endorse 
(hem individually, or as agent of the prison? 



No 20,] 183 

A. I endorse them as agent 

Q. What amount of notes so endorsed and negociated was out- 
standing on the 30th of September, 18517 

A. About $-10,000, I should think, all of which is amply secured. 

STATEMENT 

Showing the earnings of the Jlubum State Prison for the year end- 
ing September 30th, 1841. 

Convict Labor. 

Cooper shop,-- — -- -- $5,950 08 

Tool " - 3,911 33 

Weave " -------.. 4,014 53 

Machine" - 5,936 78 

Tailor " - 3,811 75 

Comb " --- -- 4,630 39 

Hame " - - 7,397 52 

Cabinet " 8,039 63 

Carpet " - - --- 7,560 51 

-Shoe, " --- - 4,964 30 

Stone " - 3,872 42 

Total,---- --- §59,091 24 

Other sources. 

Manufactured articles sold, $1,034 09 

Account for labor, stone, &c , sold,--- - 614 45 

Convict labor in shops,- - 1,513 05 

Visitors, ---- - ---- 2,633 62 

Total, - §5,795 21 

Total earnings for the year 1841, $64,886 45 

STATEMENT 

Showing the expenditures during the year ending September 30, 

1841. 

For support. 

Rations,- $11,200 16 

Hospital stores, - — - — - 485 34 

Carried forward, - — - — $ 



284 [Assemble 

Brought forward, $ 

Clothing and bedding,-- — - — --- 4,005 15 

Firewood, oil, &c, - --- 4,166 00 

Hay, grain, &c, ------ 42 77 

Stock, coal, materials, tools, &c, 2,287 83 

Printing and stationery,------ 118 40 

Discharged convicts, -- - ------ 1,101 9:3 

Miscellaneous, - - - - - - 2,455 77 

Total,- $29,863 35 

For officers. 

Salaries of prison officers,- --—• -- — - $15,203 97 

Pay of guards, - - - 6,480 00 

Inspectors, - - - - — -- - - - - - 525 90 

Total, - $22,209 87 

For building and repairs,-- ----- — - $6,916 56> 

Daily average of convicts during the year, 689 3 6 6 8 5 . 

Total expenditures for the year 1841,--- $58,989 78 

STATEMENT 

Showing the earnings of the Jluburn State Prison, J or the year end- 
ing September 30th, 1842. 

Convict Labor. 

Cooper's shop, ---------------------------------- $4,738 04 

Tool " - 3,955 98 

Weave " — - - ~ - 2,653 91 

Tailor " --- 3,351 85 

Comb " ------------ 4,441 92 

Machine " - --- 5,279 45 

Hame " - 7,291 16 

-Cabinet " ----- 7,803 50 

Carpet " - 7,920 22 

Shoe " - - 4,204 70 

Stone " - -- 3,142 83 

Total, --- ------------ $54,783 56 



No. 20.] 185 

Other sources. 

Visitors, - $1,692 75 

Job work and articles sold, - 1,173 85 

Accounts for labor, stone, &c, - 665 30 

Convict labor on wall, 393 75 

Railroad co. for grading street, - = 500 00 

Accounts for removing convicts to House of Refuge,--- 363 45 

Materials and convict labor in shops, 13,746 48 

Excess of inventory of last year in silk and other pro- 
perty, - - 8,029 98 

Total, - - $26,565 59 

Total earnings for 1842, -- $81,349 15 

STATEMENT 

Shewing the expenditures during the year ending Sept. 30th, 1842. 

For support. 

Rations, - - $16,274* 03 

Hospital stores, - 502 67 

Clothing and bedding, --- - 4,033 55 

Firewood, oil, &c, 1,316 05 

Hay, grain, &c, - 39 67 

Stock, coal, materials, tools, &a, including silk, &a, - 6,983 95 

Printing and stationery, 104 70 

Discharged convicts, - 1,049 09 

Miscellaneous, -...„.- = . - -- 2,649 79 

Total, - ----- = $32,953 50 



=a 



For officers. 

Salaries of prison officers, ------- $15,199 11 

Pay of guards, 6,495 00 

Inspectors of prisons, --- ---- - 693 30 

Total, -..---- --- $22,387 11 

For building and repairs, $12,529 88 

Daily average number of convicts during the year, 697 8 2 6 6 5 . 

Total expenditures for 1842,- - - * $67,870 79 



186 



[Assembly 



STATEMENT 

Shelving the earnings of the Auburn State prison for the year ending 
Sept. 30th, 1843. 

Convict labor. 

Cooper shop,----- - • $3,276 65 

Tool " - - 2,662 95 

Weave " 1,120 80 

Tailor " - ----- - ---- 2,702 70 

Comb " - " 2,462 66 

Machine " ------- - ------- 4,404 87 

Harae " ---- - -- 4,145 85 

Cabinet " - - - 6,065 05 

Carpet " ------- ------- 8,992 43 

Shoe " ---- ------ 4,027 70 

Stone « --*---- - -- 1,631 14 

Button « --- - 1,247 37 

Culler « --- - • -- 1,068 37 

Cr^ic " ----- - - 229 50 

Total,-- — -----«-.-"-«-------."--- $44,038 04 

Other sources. 

Visitors,------ ---- - — $1,704 11 

Job work, job work and keeping U. S. convicts, 575 82 

Small accounts for sick stores, &c, «■-.- 567 22 

Accounts for removing convicts to House of Refuge, 535 70 

$3,202 85 

Total earnings for 1843,----.- = --------- = ----- $47,240 89 

STATEMENT 
Showing the expenditures for the year ending September 30th , 1843. 

For Support. 

Rations,— ------ ------------*--- -.---. $12,222 25 

Hospital stores, — -------- — - — -.- -- 416 04 

Clothing and bedding,---------- ------ 4,388 86 

Firewood, oil, &c, — --- -- 3,418 82 

Hay, grain, &c.,- - - 27 38 

•Stock, coal, tools, ----.--„-,-*«-.-.----.--. 242 74 



No. 20.] 187 

Printing and stationery,- *--» -* 332 82 

Silk shop, stock, -- 7,009 95 

Discharged convicts,. - 900 94 

Miscellaneous, --- - -»..... 1,306 10 

$30,265 90 

For Officers. 

Salaries of prison officers,- — - $15,399 15 

Pay of guard, - - 6,760 60 

of Inspectors,---- — — -- 887 00 

Total, -..„--. $23,046 75 

For building and repairs, *----- $3,196 39 

Daily average number of convicts during the year 730. 

Total expenditure for 1843, - $56,509 04 

STATEMENT 

Showing the earnings of the Auburn State Prison, for the year 
ending 30th September 30th, 1844. 

Convict Labor, 

Coopers' shop, -- -- = $3,019 16 

Weave do --- --- — - ---- 1,115 85 

Carpet do -- --- 12,140 67 

Hame do ' 4,485 85 

Pump do - 354 07 

Tool do -.-- = .. 2,130 10 

Machine do - 3,769 88 

Cabinet do ---- ---- 5,941 94 

Shoe do - - 5,429 36 

Comb do ---- - 162 64 

Button do - - 3,578 11 

Cutlers' do - ---- 7,161 64 

Tailor do - ------ % 3,099 83 

Total, -- -...-.-.-- |52,389 10 



188 [Assembly 

Other Sources. 

Job work, articles sold, keeping U. S. convicts, $472 65 

Accounts for silk, job work, &c, 394 08 

Labor of convicts in building and repairs, — - « 884 10 

Visitors,- - 1,942 75 

Total,- -- -- -- -- $3,693 68 

From the State. 

Appropriation March 12, 1844, .---.-.- $5,303 80 

Total earnings for 1844, - $56,082 58 

STATEMENT 

Showing the expenditures during the year ending September 30th, 

1844. 

For Support. 

Rations,- ----- ---- $13,878 28 

Hospital stores, --- 806 96 

Clothing and bedding, - •-- 8,467 06 

Silk, stock, &c.,-- ----- -'— 2,475 49 

Firewood, oil, &c, --- 3,736 48 

Hay, grain, &c, ° - 51 58 

Stock, coal, &c.,---- 105 58 

Printing and stationery,- -* 214 67 

Discharged convicts, - 993 76 

Miscellaneous, ---- 2,277 21 

Total,--- .....y-,, — ... $33,037 07 

For Officers. 

Salaries of prison officers,---------- -- $15,222 26 

Pay of guard,- - - 7,199 51 

Inspectors, - - --- 866 00 

To t a l,.. -------- - --------- --- $23,307 77 

For building and repairs,.------ $11,762 56 

Daily average number of convicts during the year 

77 5-- 2 -. 

Total expenditure for 1844,- - - - - - - $68,107 40 



No. 20.] 189 

STATEMENT 

Showing the earnings of the Auburn State Prison for the year 
ending September 30th, 1845. 

Convict labor. 

Carpet shop, $15,494 05 

Weave " - 956 49 

Tool " - 2,131 08 

Machine" - 3,880 19 

Cabinet " - 6,437 56 

Shoe « 4,701 62 

Harne " --- 4,344 77 

Cooper " 2,98121 

Cutler " - 11,913 09 

Tailor " - 2 959 40 

Button " ----- 2,145 30 

Pump " - 504 90 

Total, $58,549 66 

Other sources. 

Job work, support of U. S. convicts, $1,239 61 

Visitors,---- 2,032 47 

Labor of convicts, building and repairs, . 606 50 

making clothes for Clinton prison,- 561 26 



o 



Total, $4,439 84 

Total earnings for 1845, $62,989 50 



STATEMENT 

Showing the expenditures during the year ending Sept. 30th, 1845. 

For support. 

Rations, -- $13,812 31 

Hospital stores, - 512 81 

Clothing: and bedding, - 5,646 21 

Eire wood, oil, &c, 4,651 86 

Hay, grain, &c, • 62 35 

Stock, coal, tools, &c, 247 03 

Printing and stationery, 167 11 

Discharged convicts, 665 37 

Miscellaneous, ------- 1,191 00 

Total, $26,956 11 



* 

190 [Assembly 

For officers. 

Salaries of prison officers, $15,200 00 

Pay of guard, 7,200 00 

Inspectors, 756 00 

Total., $23,156 00 

For building and repairs, - $3,485 35 



'225 
365' 



Daily average number of convicts during the year, 73 

Total expenditures for 1845, - -- $53,597 46 

STATEMENT 

Showing the earnings of the Auburn State Prison jor the yea? 
ending September 30th, 1846. 

Convict laboi. 

Weave shop, - - ---- $89 18 

Carpet " - - 14,999 22 

Tailor " ----- 2,655 04 

Cutler " .--- - ---- 11,503 49 

Harae " - 3,538 18 

Shoe " ---- - 4,525 27 

Cabinet " - - 5,775 75 

Machine " - - -- -------- 3,340 87 

Tool " --- - 1,976 16 

Coopers 5 " ---- - ------- 3,335 68 

Total,-- ------- „.„--- $51,738 84 

Other sources. 

Job work, support of U S. convicts - -'-' $1,294 54 

Sales of sundry articles, - - - -- 169 91 

Visitors,-----'---- ---- 3,133 57 

Total, --- ----- $4,598 02 

Total earnings for 1846, - --- $56,336 86 



No. 20.] 191 

STATEMENT 

Showing the expenditures during the year ending Sept. 30th, 1846. 

For support. 

Rations, $14,326 33 

Hospital stores, 7 17 66 

Clothing and bedding, 4,624 69 

Fire wood, oil, &c, - 3,829 46 

Hay, grain, &c, - 108 60 

Silk shop, - 19 92 

Stock, coal, tools, &c, 781 69 

Printing and stationery, 108 00 

Discharged convicts, 852 51 

Miscellaneous, 1,400 83 

Total, ----- $26,769 69 

For officers. 

Salaries of prison officers, $ 15,200 00 

Pay of guard, * 7,200 00 

Inspectors, - 676 20 

Total, - $23,076 20 

For building and repairs, - ---.--- $2,637 71 

Daily average number of convicts during the year, 645 3 6 6 t 5 . 

Total expenditures for 1846,----------- $52,483 60 

STATEMENT 

Showing the earnings of the Auburn State prison for the year end- 
ing September 30th, 1847. 

Convict labor. 

Cabinet shop, - $5,939 19 

Tool " --- - 2,127 22 

Machine " - 3,436 43 

Carpet " 12,009 09 

Shoe " - 4,684 54 

Cooper " - - 3,682 02 

Hame " - 3,168 92 

Tailor " - - 2,212 71 

Cutler " 9,254 96 

Total earnings of convicts, - > $46 3 51 5 08 



1 92 Assembly 

Other sources. 

Interest, rents and swill, $548 98 

Job work, 49 89 

Support of United States convicts, ----- 1,057 77 

Visitors, 1,646 17 

Tctal, $3,302 81 

Total earnings for 1847, --- $49,817 89 

STATEMENT 

Showing the expenditures during the year ending September 30th, 

1847. 

For support. 

Rations, - - $14,859 11 

Hospital stores, 553 15 

Clothing and bedding, 4,605 49 

Fire wood, oil, &c, 1,813 06 

Hay, grain, &c, 110 69 

Stock, coal, tools, &c., - - 575 36 

Printing and stationery, 120 73 

Discharged convicts, 632 28 

Miscellaneous, ------ 823 13 

Total,- $24,093 00 

For officers. 

Pay of Inspectors,- $565 00 

Salaries of prison officers, 15,200 00 

Pay of guards,--- ------ .-.- 7,200 00 

Total, - - - $22,965 00 

For building and repairs, - $5,138 60 

Daily average number of convicts during the year, 582^. 

Total expenditures for 1847,------ $52,196 60 



No. 10. J 193 

STATEMENT 

Showing the earnings of the Auburn State Prison, for the year end- 
ing September 30th, 1848. 

Convict Labor. 

Cabinet shop, - - $5,438 97 

Tool " 2,154 24 

Machine " 3,456 23 

Carpet " 9,147 26 

Shoe " 4,392 50 

Cooper " 2,789 15 

Hame " 3,007 94 

Tailor " - 1,797 83 

Cutler " 7,323 36 

Total earnings of convicts, $39,507 48 

Other Sources. 

Interest, job work, swill, and convict labor on wall,--- $1,173 35 

Support of United States convicts, 1,115 58 

Amount received from visitors, --- 1,708 88 

Clothing made and furnished Clinton prison,— 556 25 

Total, - M v-» r .--.-.- $4,554 06 

Total earnings for 1848, $44,061 52 

STATEMENT 

Showing the expenditures during the year ending September 30th, 

1848. 

For Support. 

Rations,-------------- $14,961 94 

Hospital stores, - - 744 31 

Clothing and bedding, 4,101 73 

Firewood, oil, &c. 4,517 82 

Hay, grain, &c. -- 110 91 

Stock, coal, tools, &c.--- -- 236 13 

Printing and stationery, - - 750 72 

Discharged convicts,- - — - 1,084 33 

Furniture, - 140 11 

Miscellaneous, - 5,662 46 

Total, $32,310 46 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 13 



1 94 [A SSEMBLY 

For Officers. 

Inspectors, $329 20 

Salary of prison officers, 15,178 48 

Pay of guards, 7,197 04 

Total, $22,704 72 



For building and repairs, $ 10,724 08 

Daily average number of convicts during the year, 479 3 6 6 |. 

Total expenditures for 1848, $65,739 06 

STATEMENT 

Showing the earnings of the Auburn State Prison, for the year end- 
ing September 30th, 1849. 

Convict Labor. 

Cabinet shop, $7,895 96 

Carpet shop, 18,927 17 

Cooper shop, 2,799 77 

Cutlery shop, — — - 664 43 

Hame shop, ---- 4,222 08 

Machine shop, - 4,529 34 

Shoe shop, - - 6,601 76 

Tailor shop, 363 71 

Tool shop, * 4,295 81 

Total earnings of convicts, - — $ 50,300 03 

Other sources. 

Interest, rent, and job-work, - $1,134 03 

Support of United States convicts, « • • • 882 14 

Visitors, 1,817 66 

Sales of sundry articles, 628 90 

Total other sources, - $4,462 73 



No. 20.] 195 

From the State. 

From Comptroller, for clothing furnished Clinton prison, $2,226 80 

From same, for library, 100 00 

Total from the State, $2,326 80 

Total earnings for 1849, $54,762 76. 

STATEMENT 

Shotvi?ig the expenditures during the year ending September 30th, 

1849. 

For support* 

Rations, $16,090 SO 

Hospital, • » 883 33 

Clothing and bedding, - • 3,383 36 

Fire-wood, oil, &c, • * 5,363 18 

Hay and grain, • • • • • 28 34 

Stock, tools, &c.,.. 96 27 

Printing and stationery, • 455 66 

Discharged convicts, - ■ • • 1,010 60 

Furniture,* • • • ■ 132 40 

Miscellaneous, 1,190 56 

Total, - $28,634 50 

For Officers. 

Salaries of prison officers and teachers, $15,619 15 

guards, 7,198 20 



iC £( 



Total, $22,817 35 

For building and repairs, '• $5,326 14 

Daily average number of convicts during the year, 512. 

Total expenditures for 1849/ • • $55,777 99 



196 [Assembly 

STATEMENT 

Showing the earnings of the Auburn State prison for the year end- 
ing September 30th, 1850. 

Convict Labor. 

Cabinet shop, - $7,285 34 

Carpet " 28,292 15 

Cooper " --- - 2,916 76 

Hame " - - --- 5,743 46 

Machine " 5,920 80 

Shoe " ----- 7,275 60 

Tool " ----- - - 6,655 62 

Total earnings of convicts, --■ --- — ■ — $6,489 73 

Other sources. 

Interest, rent, swill, and job-work, - — $378 79 

Support of United States convicts, 773 82 

Visitors,--- - - - 1,710 73 

Sales of sundry articles, ---- .._ — 1,530 63 

Total other sources,-- .----.--.- $4,394 02 

From State. 

From Comptroller, for library, - = --- $100 00 



Total earnings for 1850,- „.._..„ — - $68,483 75 

STATEMENT 

Showing the expenditures during the year ending Sept. 30, 1850. 

For Support. 

Rations, - ----- $18,249 70 

Hospital, «- ---• 878 82 

Clothing and bedding, - - 3,022 66 

Firewood, oil, &c, - — ■- 3,181 84 

Hay and grain, - - 63 09 

Stock and tools, • 174 07 

Furniture, --- - 269 97 

Discharged convicts, ---- — ---- — - — -. 1,042 17 

Miscellaneous, - 3,732 58 

Printing and stationery, - - - 279 42 

Total, - „..-.--.- $30,894 32 



No. 20.] 197 

For Officers, 

Salaries of Prison officers, « - - $ 17,628 96 

" Guards, 7,200 00 



Total, --- $24,828 96 



For building and repairs, $15,440 79 



Daily average number of convicts during the year, 661. 

Total expenditures for 1850, $71,164 07 



STATEMENT 

■Showing the earnings of the Auburn State Prison for the year end- 
ing September 30, 1851. 

Convict labor. 



Cabinet shop, 
Tool 

Machine " 
Carpet " 



Shoe 



rt 



Cooper " 
Hame 



Total, 



Other 



sources. 



Rations, 

Buildings and repairs, 
Firewood, oil, &c, • • 

Visitors, 

Prisou, « • • » 

Convicts' deposits,* • • 



Total, 

Total earnings for 1851, 



$7,140 90 


7,823 77 


6,406 21 


31,735 87 


5,538 57 


3,614 45 


5,769 76 


$68,074 53 


$654 67 


11 48 


28 00 


1,699 00 


2,299 07 


145 30 


$4,837 52 


$72,912 05 



198 [Assembly 

STATEMENT 

Showing the expenditures during the year ending Sept. 30, 1851. 

For Support. 

Rations, $21,892 05 

Hospital, • 543 50 

Clothing and bedding, • - 3,716 66 

Firewood, oil, &c, » • • 4,407 96 

Hay, grain, &c, -• • • 163 23 

Stock, tools, &c.j 4,119 37 

Furniture, - 448 04 

Printing and stationery,- 315 38 

Discharged convicts, • • » 1,488 40 

Miscellaneous, 4,812 68 

Total, $41,907 27 

For Officers. 

Salaries of officers, $19,528 59 

Pay of guards, • 7,671 00 

Total, » • • $27,199 59 

For building and repairs, • • • $19,439 14 

Daily average number of convicts during the year, 732. 

Total expenditures for 185 1, ■:'• - $88,540 00 



SING SING PRISON. 



Oct. 16, 1851. 

Munson J. Lockwood, sworn. 

Q. Are you the agent of the Sing Sing prison; if so, from what 
time? 

A. I am, and have been since Nov. 20, 1850. 

Q. How many convicts are there in this prison this day, to wit, 
Oct. 16, 1851? 

A. 725 males and 74 females, in all 799. 

Q. How many male convicts are employed on contracts'? 

A. 545 on full pay, 47 on half pay, Oct. 1st, 1851. 

Q. How many contracts are there existing in this prison at this 
time, the nature of them, and the number of convicts employed on 
each 1 

A. They are as follows: 

Lime contract, in the name of Henry A. Taylor. 
22 full pay men, at 40 cents per day. 
3 half 
Contract dated May 1, 1847, for five years. 

Cooper contract, in the name of Samuel Taylor. 
3 full pay, at 40 cents per day. 
Contract dated Sept. 1, 1848, for five years. 

Shook contract (or stave), in the name of Henry R. Hubtell. 
19 full pay, at 40 cents per day. 

3 half " 

Contract dated May 1, 1851, for five years. 

Saw contract, in the name of James Horner, Edmund F. Grant and 
Martins L. Cobb, assigned to Courtland Wood and John C. Lyman. 
55 at full pay, at 40 cents per day. 

4 at half " 



200 [Assembly 

Contract dated May 1, 1851, for three years, with privilege of 
extending to five years. 

File contract, in the name of James Horner. 
64 at full pay, at 40 cents per day. 
3 at half " 
Contract dated April 12, 1849, for five years. 

Carpet contract, in the name of James Johnson. 

55 at full pay, at 40 cents per day. 

10 at half " 

Contract dated Sept. 30, 1850, for five years. 

Saddlery and Hardware contract, in the name of Joseph J. Lewis. 
88 at full pay, at 35 cents per day, 
1 at half " 
Contract dated January 1, 1849, for five years. 

Plating contract, in the name of Hotchkiss & Smith, Hotchkiss as- 
signed his interest to Peter Hayden. 

29 at full pay at 40J cts. per day. 
Contract dated. 

Carpet contract, in name of Hotchkiss & Smith. 

37 full pay men at 40J cts. per day. 

1 half pay men at 40J cts. per day. 
Contract dated. 

Cabinet contract in the name of Charles H. Woodruff. 
36 full pay men at 40 cts. per day. 
9 half pay men at 40 cts. per day. 
Contract dated October 1, 1850, for 5 years. 

Carpet contract, in the name of Thomas Weatherby. 
23 full pay men at 40J cts. per day. 
Contract dated September 1, 1848, for 5 years. 

Hat contract, in the name of Charles Watson. 

96 full pay men at 40 cts. per day. 

11 half pay men at 40 cts per day. 
Contract dated May 1, 1849, for 5 years. 

Quarry contract, in the name of David Gardner. 

18 full pay men at 40 cts. per day. 

2 half pay men at 40 cts. per day. 

This contract is verbal, and for 6 months from Dec. 1850. 



No. 20.] 201 

Q. How are the oth.T male convicts employed, state particularly, 
A. On State work, including masons, carpenters, tailors, shoe- 
makers, &c, sixty. ------------ -60 

Cooks, waiters and laborers, 43, --- ------43 

In warden's house, garden and keeper's hall, six, - - - - 6 

In female prison, three, --------*--- 3 

In stables and teamsters, six, ---------- 6 

In washing, three, ------------- 3 

In waiters and cook in hospital, four, -------- 4 

In charge of water and coal yard, three, ------- 3 

In hospital sick, 12, ---- ---12 



140 



Q How are the female convicts employed'? 

A. majority of them in binding hats by the dozen for the hat con- 
tractor, and the rest are employed in making bedding and clothing 
for the prisoners. 

Q. Are there any sources of revenue to the prison except from 
convict labor? 

A. There are. I receive rent for the farm of about acres, and 
the buildings, the sum of $25,300 per annum. I also receive for 
boarding United States convicts, who are also employed on contract, 
at the rate of 25 cents per day each. There are other receipts for 
water let to contractors, for grease and bones, and sundry other arti 
cles sold, amounting in the whole I should think to about $1400.00, 

Q What are the monthly receipts of this prison at the present 
time from all sources? 

A. Our receipts from all sources, exclusive of appropriations, ex- 
ceed the sum of $6,000 per month. 

Q. What are the monthly expenditures of this prison at the present 
time? 

A. The ordinary expenditures will not vary much from $6,000. 

Robert A. Robinson sworn: 

Q. Are you the warden of the Sing Sing prison, if so, from what 
time have you been warden? 

A. I am, since April 1, 1851. 

Q. Are you in the habit of examining the cells and visiting the 
shops of the prison daily? 

A. I am in the habit of visiting the shops daily, and am in the 
practice of examining the cells more or less every week. 



202 [Assembly 

Q. What directions have you given to the subordinate officers in 
regard to the government and discipline of the prison? 

A. They are contained in a pamphlet, and are furnished to each 
officer of the prison. (The pamphlet produced.) 

Q. Have any of the keepers, since you have been warden, been 
found by you to be careless and negligent of their duties? 
A. They have. 

Q. Who were they, and what were the cases? 
A. Samuel Bund, Simeon Tompkins, John B. Lent, Daniel C. 
Sherman. 

Q. Were any of these persons discharged? 
A. They were, all of them. 

Q. Do you make daily examinations in relation to the health of 
the convicts? 

A. I do, every day, when I am in the prison. 
Q. How are these examinations made? 

A. By visiting the hospital with the physician in the morning; 
also by visiting the shops, enquiring of the keepers, and conversing 
with those who appear to be ill. 

Q. Do you make daily examinations in regard to the condition 
and safe keeping of the convicts? 

A. I do, and see that they are safely locked up; I have examined 
in regard to the ventilation and warmth of the convicts while in 
their cells, and have examined the cells when convicts have made 
complaints in regard to them. 

Q. Have any complaints been made to you from convicts in regard 
to their food? 

A. There have, but they were only from men who were ill, asking 
for hospital rations. We had sour bread fur a part of two days, du- 
ring that time the complaints were general; this was about Aug. 1st, 
1851, 1 think ; I have been frequently asked for extra rations at 
night, and sometimes on Sunday. 

Q. What heed did you give to these complaints? 
A. I increased the rations, and made such arrangements that I 
heard no further complaints. 

Q. Have any complaints been made to you by convicts in regrrd 
to their clothing? 

A. There have Some of the men complain that they have not 
clothing enough in mild weather, and ask for double suits through- 
out. These cases we investigate, and if the men are ili or rheuma- 
tic, they are referred to the physician to decide upon. 

Q. Have any complaints been made to you by convicts in regard 
to their treatment from officers? 



No. 20.] 203 

A. There have. They are generally that he is watched by his 
keeper more closely than others, and that the charges against them 
are not true. 

Q. Do you keep any record of the complaints made to you? 

A. I do. 

Q. Are all the complaints made to you noted therein? 

A. No sir, not all; only such as I regard as well founded. 

Q. Have any punishments been inflicted upon convicts since you 
have been warden? 

A. Yes sir. 

Q. Do you keep a record of them, and will you produce it? 

A. I do; and this book is the record. (Book produced ) 

Q. What have been your most usual modes of punishment? 

A. The shower bath, dark cell and cutting the hair. 

Q. What other modes have you? 

A. Ball and chain, iron collar, and yokp. 

Q. Have any blows been inflicted upon any convict by any keep- 
er, or other person since you have been warden? 

A. Yes sir, in three cases. One by myself in self-defence, when 
the convict threatened to kill me; I struck him slightly with a cane 
upon the arm or shoulder, I think. Another case; a convict turned 
upon keeper W T ashburn, and he struck him in self-defence, as I am 
informed by the keeper. Also, another case; the case of Dr. Peck, 
hospital keeper; a convict subject to lunacy, as I am informed, re- 
sisted the keeper; the keeper struck him with his fist, as I believe, 
without good cause, and I think in a passion, and hit him on the 
head. The convict was put in a straight jacket, and remained for 
two or three hours; after this he was submissive. The convict's 
name was Horton. I think there are no other cases. 

Q. Are all the punishments inflicted upon convicts in this prison 
recorded or noted. 

A. I believe they are with some slight exceptions. 

Q What are the exceptions. 

A. Reports made to me on slips of paper sent from the shops, are 
returned by me to the keeper with a note of the punishment to be 
inflicted, when I have confidence in the judgment of the keeper, 
but when I have doubts as to the judgment of a keeper, I direct and 
superintend personally the punishment, and doubtless cases happen 
where the punishment is not recorded from omission on the part of 
the keeper. 

Q. Do you know of any cases where more than ordinary punish 
ment was inflicted, not noted in the record of punishments. 



204 [Assembly 

A. 1 do not. 

Q. Are the keepers required to report in writing every infraction 
of the rules of the prison by the convicts? 

A. They are. 

Q. Do you note those reports in a book? 

A. Yes sir, with the exceptions above stated. 

Q. What do the Inspectors do in regard to these complaints? 

A. The Inspector in charge examines the reports monthly, also 
the board when they meet 

Q. Do you know of any case where sickness, disease or insanity 
has been produced by punishment? 

A. I do not. 

Q. How often do the convicts change their clothing? 

A. The rule is, once a week ; but we are unable to do so some 
times from circumstances which we cannot control ; some of the men 
some times go for two weeks without change. 

Q. Have punishments been inflicted upon convicts by or under the 
direction of Robert Lent, the architect? 

A. They have in my absence, and the reason is, that T have full 
confidence in his judgment, he having been connected with the prison 
for more than twenty years, and in my absence I place the prison in 
his charge, w r hen the agent or Inspector in charge are not present 
at the prison. 

Q. Have you ever consulted the physician of the prison in regard 
to punishments? 

A. I have and always do where I think there would be any danger 
in punishing. 

A. Are there any insane convicts in this prison? 

A. I think there are five or six cases. 

Q. Are they kept at work? 

A. They are; because I think it better to keep them at work than 
to shut them up. They are not forced to work; but should they refuse 
to work, they are operated upon by persuasion. 

Q. Are there cases occurring every week, in which some convicts 
do not get a change of clothing? 

A. I think there are. 

Q. How could this want be obviated? 

A. By a larger supply of clothing. 

Q. Have you ever conferred with the agent on this subject, and 
with what result? 

A. I have. Additions have been made to the quantity of clothing 
since I have been here, and are still being made. 



No. 20] 205 

Q. Are there two cotton shirts for each convict in prison? 

A. I believe there are not. 

Q. Are there two woollen shirts for each convict in prison? 

A. I believe there are not. 

Q. Is it possible, with the present supply of clothing, to give each 
convict a weekly change? 

A. It is not. 

Q. Is there at this time, a sufficient supply of bedding for this 
prison. 

A. There is, I mean for the summer and early fall w r eather, but 
not for the winter. There is now being made a sufficient quantity 
of bedding for the winter, I think. 

Q. Is there a sufficient light in the dormitories to enable the con- 
victs to read? 

A. There is not, all the cells are not sufficiently lighted. 

Q. Have complaints been made to you of a w r ant of light? 

A. There have, in a great many instances, more from this thaB 
from anything else. It operates to impede the progress of those 
who desire to learn. 

Q. What heed did you give to these complaints? 

A. I remedied the objection by changing the convicts to cells 
nearer the light, when it could be done. 

Q. Do you regard it necessary to have more light in the dormitory 
for this purpose? 

A. I do. 

Q. Have you ever called the attention of the agent or Inspectors 
to the want of light? 

A. I have of the agent I am positive; and I think I have of the 
Inspectors. The agent told me he would supply additional light, 
and is now making arrangements to do so. 

Q. Have you ever called the attention of the Inspector in charge 
to the deficiency in supply of clothing? 

A. I have, verbally. He replied, it must be remedied and it 
should be. I spoke to him first in May last, and again in August, 
during the prevalence of the dysentery. 

Q. Has the food furnished to the convicts been of a wholesome 
quality, without exception? 

A, It has. We have rejected sour flour and meat, because it w r as 
not regarded as wholesome. 

Q. Are you in the habit of visiting the mess room daily to ex- 
amine the provision? 

A. I am. 



206 [Assembly 

Q Have any complaints come to you that convicts have been 
overworked? 

A. There have; I have heard complaints more or less, from every 
shop in the prison; some complain that their work is too hard for 
them, and ask to be changed to other work; others complain that 
they are unable to perform the quantity of work required of them 
per day. 

Q. What heed do you give to these complaints? 

A. I examine into the cases, and if I find the complaints well 
founded, I remedy them immediately. 

Q. Have difficulties arisen between contractors and yourself, or 
the keepers in regard to the quantity of work required of convicts, 
under their contract, and in regard to the amount performed by them? 

A. There have been slight difficulties. 

Q. Are there any cells in this prison as required in section 44, 
chap. 460, of the Laws of 1847? 

A. They are not 

Q. What is your opinion of the different modes of punishment in 
this prison? 

A. I think, if the cells required by the Laws of 1847, were pro- 
vided, we should not be obliged to punish so often with the shower 
bath, yoke and dungeon, I think the shower bath preferable to the 
cat, but in the hands of injudicious men I think far more dangerous. 
So far as I have seen the yoke used, I have discovered no bad effects 
from it, except a soreness of muscle. 

October 17, 1851. 

William N. Belcher, sworn. 

Q. Are you the physician of the Sing Sing Prison; if so, from 
what time? 

A. I am, and have been since January, 1848. 

Q. Have you, before your present appointment, been physician to 
this prison and how long? 

A. I have, for three years from May, 1840. 

Q. How many years have you been in the practice of medicine, 
and where do you now reside? 

A. Thirty years, and reside in Sing Sing, and have resided in 
Sing Sing for 21 years. 

Q. Do you keep a register of all convicts admitted to the hos- 
pital, and what facts does it contain? 

A. I do. It contains the name of the convict, age, complexion, 
time of reception in prison, state of health, crime, where convicted, 
time in jail previous to conviction. I also keep a record of all per- 



No. 20,] 207 

sons admitted to the hospital, which record contains the names of 
the convicts, time of admission in the hospital, disease, general 
treatment, time of discharge. 

Q. How often do you visit the prison, and how much time do you 
devote to your duties at each visit? 

A. I visit every day, and oftener if called for; I devote from 1| 
to 7 hours to my duties each day, according to the amount of sick- 
ness. 

Q. Do you visit the cells to examine their condition, if so, how 
often ? 

A. I do, some of them every week. I walk about the cells, and 
if I see any thing wrong I report it. 

Q. Have you at any time found the cells or bedding in an un- 
healthy or improper condition ? 

A. I have not, unless from unavoidable causes, which causes are 
a very great dampness in the cells, which we attempt to remedy by 
heat, as far as we can. 

Q. Have you found the dampness spoken of a cause of disease 
among the convicts ? 

A. I think I have, to quite an extent. 

Q. How often do you visit the kitchen to inspect the food ? 
A. Sometimes every day, and sometimes once a week. I pass 
through the kitchen every day, and am particular to enforce upon 
the keeper to report to me if there is any thing wrong in the pro- 
visions. 

Q. Have you at any time found the food to be of an unwhole- 
some quality ? 
A. I have. 

Q. What were the circumstances ? 

A. I have found flour and fish that were unwholesome, which were 
condemned and not used I think there was a lot of beef sent back 
as not good. 

Q. Do you direct all unwholesome food to be rejected, and are 
your directions heeded ? 

A. 1 do, and my directions are heeded, as soon as circumstances 
will allow. 

Q. Have you known of any injury to the health of convicts from 
punishments ? 

A. I can't say that I have known of any serious injury. 
Q. What is your opinion of the shower bath as a mode of pun- 
ishment compared with other modes ] 

A. I think it cannot be generally used with impunity, and that in 



208 [Assembly 

many cases its use should be prohibited, although punishment should 
be inflicted in some way. I believe it to be more dangerous than 
the cat or any other mode now in use. 

Q. What in your opinion is the longest term a convict can be im- 
prisoned without serious injury to his body or mind ? 

A. I am not able to give an opinion. 

Q. What has been the general state of the health during the past 
year ? 

A. Ordinary health with the exception of August and September, 
when dysentery prevailed to a considerable extent. 

Q. Have you seen any lack of cleanliness in the bedding or cloth- 
ing of the convicts ? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Have you ever been consulted by the warden or keepers in re- 
gard to the infliction of punishments ? 

A. I have in individual cases. 

Q. How many convicts are there in prison who are insane ? 

A. I should think 12, who are more or less insane. 

Q. W T hich is the best manner of supplying rations for the prison, 
by contract, or by the agents supplying 1 

A. By allowing the agent to supply. 

Q. Have you known any cases of pregnancy in the prison during 
your term of office, and how many ? 

A. I have known such cases, at least 2 or 3 every year. 

Q. Do you know of any cases of female convicts becoming preg- 
nant while in prison ? 

A. I don't know any case of parturition occuring in this prison 
after the female has been here nine months: and I don't believe that 
any female has become pregnant while in this prison. 

Q, Do you know of any case where pregnant females have been 
pardoned ? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Have you any suggestions to make in regard to the present 
system of discipline in either the male or female departments in this 
prison ? 

A. I have none, for I have not had any opportunity to judge in 
relation to it. 

John B. Bruson sworn. 

Q. Are you a convict in the Sing Sing prison, if so where are 
you embloyed? 

A. I am; and am employed in the hospital. 

Q. What is your general business there? 



No. 20.] 209 

A. To compound and dispense medicines. 

Q. How long have you been in the hospital? 

A. Over three years. 

Q. Before you went into the hospital had you any knowledge of 
compounding and dispensing medicine ? 

A. Yes; I was a druggist, chemist, and veterinary surgeon by pro- 
fesssion. 

Q. Do you recollect Barney Smith, a convict ? 

A. I do. 

Q. Was he in the hospital, if so how long ? 

A. He was; for thirty days. 

Q. Did he die in the hospital ? 

A. He did; 3Jst xMay, 1850. 

Q. What was his condition when he came to the hospital ? 

A. He w r as much debilitated. 

Q. Do you know that he had been punished just before he came 
to the hospital ? 

A. I don't think he had. 

Q. At this time was there any appearance of his having received 
blows or punishment of any kind ? 

A. There was not. 

Q. How often were you in the habit of seeing Barney Smith be- 
fore he came into the hospital May 1, 1850 ? 

A. Nearly every day for some time previous. 

Q. Did you notice at any of these times, any appearance of blows 
or bruises upon him ? 

A. I saw appearances of bruises, and knew the causes of them. 

Q. What were the causes of them ? 

A. Barney Smith told me while making applications to these 
bruises, that he got these bruises by jumping down in the quarry* 
He told me that he jumped down as an act of penance; I believe he 
was partially insane ; his general conduct was that of a monoma- 
niac. 

Q. Have you heard from convicts that Smith was punished ? 

A. Yes, I have very frequently, and the cause was generally for 
breach of discipline, and w T hen they attempted to discipline him he 
would resist, and would have a scuffle with his keeper. 

Q. Have you any reason to believe that his health was in any 
way injured by his punishments or scuffles with his keepers? 

A. I should not think his disease was superinduced by them, but 
it might have been aggravated by them, unknown to the keepers. 

[Assembly No. 20.] 14 



210 [Assembly 

Q. Have you any reason to believe that he died of any other dis- 
ease than consumption ? 

A. I am confident he did not; he died of that species of consump- 
tion termed marasmus. 

Q. Where was he generally kept at work ? 

A. In the quarry. 

Q. What was his condition when admitted to the hospital ? 

A. Evidently incurable. 

Q. Do you know of any convicts coming to the hospital from the 
effects of punishment ? 

A. I do. 

Q. Please state the cases of those you remember. 

A. David Thorp was taken with a fit while in the shower bath; 
he has since been subject to epileptic fits, and he has told me that 
he was subject to them before. 

I have seen several come in from the effect of wearing the yoke, 
they complained of stiffness in the arms, shoulders and neck, but one 
of these cases remained in the hospital over night, to apply some 
simple remedy to remove the stiffness. 

James C. Hale sworn. 

Q. Are you the clerk of the Sing Sing prison, if so, from what time?' 

A. I am, and have been such clerk since April 1, 1850, 

Q. Do you keep a record of the receipt and discharge of all con- 
victs? 

A. I do. 

Q. How many officers are there in this prison? 

A, There are as follows: Agent, warden, clerk, physician, chap- 
lain, architect, 2 male teachers, one female teacher, 29 keepers, 33 
regular guards, 2 extra guards, 1 matron, and 4 assistants. 

Q. What is the salary of each of the above officers? 

A. As follows: 
Agent, per annum - . . . - . . $1,000 

Warden, " 1,000 

Clerk, " - 800 

Physician, " - - 500 

Chaplain, -------- 600 

Architect, « . - . ..... 1200 

Teachers male, each, per annum, .... 150 

" female, « 144 

Keepers, " ..... 550 

Guard, " 360 

Martron, « - 500 

Assistants, " 350 



No. 20.] 211 

Q. What does the register of convicts contain? 

A. It contains the names of convicts, dates of reception, where 
born, age, occupation, usual residence, crime, complexion, color of 
hair, stature, where convicted, sentence and judge before whom con- 
victed. 

Q. Who keeps the accounts and the books of account of the 
prison? 

A. I do. 

Q. Do you compare the articles received into prison with the bills 
for the same? 

A. I do. 

Q. Is this your practice in relation to all the articles received into 
prison, purchased by the agent for the use of the prison? 

A. It is, except when they are delivered on the dock, when the 
keeper on the dock takes an account of the articles delivered there. 
He reports the same to me, and I compare the report with the bill 
received. This is the practice when articles are delivered in other 
parts of the prison. 

Q. Are the supplies furnished for the prison by the agent, exam- 
ined at the time of their reception by any one, for the purpose of 
ascertaining whether they compare in weight, quality and quantity, 
with the purchases of the agent? 

A. They are compared as to weight and quantity generally by the 
keeper who receives. 

Q. Have you in any cases found descrepancies between the bill 
rendered and the quantity delivered? 

A. I have in some slight particulars. 

Q. Do you keep a faithful account of all the financial transac- 
tions of the prison? 

A. I do. 

Q. Are vouchers taken of all disbursements on account of this prison? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Have you been a keeper in this prison, if so, for what time? 

A. I have, from January 1848, to my appointment as clerk. I 
was a relief keeper a principal part of the time. 

Q. Do you know of punishments being inflicted by direction of 
the architect, while the agent or warden were about the prison? 

A. I have no recollection of any. 

Q. Do you recollect Barney Smith, a convict? 

A. I do, he was half crazy at times. 

Q. Do you know that he was whipped or punished by the archi- 
tect, Mr. Lent? 



212 [Assembly 

A. I do not. 

Q. Have you heard that this Barney Smith was knocked down 
on any occasion by Mr. Lent? 

A. I have, that he was knocked down, but can't state the partic- 
ulars, except so far, that Smith threw a stone at Lent, and Lent 
clenched him and threw him down, or knocked him down; I don't 
recollect whether he hit Lent or not. 

Q. Have you heard of any cases where blows have been inflicted 
upon convicts, except in self-defence? 

A. I have not. 

Q. Did you have any disputes With the contractor while you were 
keeper in regard to convicts not doing a day's work? 

A. I had no dispute, but the contractor's agent reported to me 
that the convicts in certain cases did not perform a full day's work, 
and I reported to the agent. 

Q. Was a specific amount of work required in the shop of which 
you had charge, as a day's work of each convict? 

A. Yes sir. 

Q. Who fixed the amount of labor for a day's work? 

A, The contractor, generally. 

Q. Did any of the convicts under your charge complain that they 
could not perform the amount required? 

A. Not in any case, unless the convict was sick; and most gen- 
erally they would get through an hour before bell time. 

Q. Had you any cases where the convict could not perform as 
much as was required by the contractor as a full day's labor? 

A. I had but one case, and in that case I charged him as a full 
pay man. 

Q. Do you know of any keepers being discharged for intemper- 
ance? 

A. I do. 

Robert A. Robinson, re-called. 

Q. Are any of the keepers of this prison intemperate in their 
habits? 

A. There are two who are so reputed. 

Q. Was there a report that the officer at the dock kept liquor for 
his own use, and for the use of the other officers, at his guard house? 

A. There was, and I investigated the report, and found that it 
originated from the fact, that the officer used a liniment compounded 
with liquor for the rheumatism, and I became fully satisfied that there 
was no foundation for the report,. 



No. 20,] 213 

Amos Babeock, sworn. 

Q. Are you a keeper in the Sing Sing prison; if so, how long 
have you been such keeper? 

A. I am, and have been such keeper since January, 1848. 

Q. "What are your duties? 

A. I have charge of the mess room at present, and have had such 
charge since September, 1S49. 

Q. Have you examined daily the food prepared for the convicts 
since you have been in the mess room? 

A. I have. 

Q. Please state the different kinds of food furnished. 

A. Salt pork and beef, fish, and fresh beef, potatoes, onions, tur- 
nips, beets, sometimes cabbage, rice; bread made of rye flour and In- 
dian meal, or rye flour and wheat middlings; wheat bread for hospi- 
tal use, and such provisions for hospital use as the physician directs.'""; 

Q. Has the food furnished been of a wholesome quality? ^ 

A. Yes, sir. Hf 

Q. Have any complaints been made by the convicts of the un- 
wholesomeness of the food? 

A. There have. 

Q. Please state them. 

A. I have heard complaints that their meat was not good. I have 
heard complaints of almost everything. 

Q. Were any of these complaints made while the convicts were 
eating? 

A. I have heard complaints at such time. 

Q. What did you do in relation to them? 

A. I examined into them, and found almost always that they 
were not well-founded. 

Q. Have any provisions furnished for the mess-room been rejected 
on account of its poor quality? 

A. Yes sir; I have rejected some meat, pork, beef, flour, and meal. 

Q. Do you endeavor to be careful in regard to the provision 
cooked. 

A. I aim to be very careful about it. 

Q. Have you ever discovered after food was cooked that it was 
unwholesome? 

A. I have. 

Q. In such cases what do you do? 

A. When I find that the food is not good, I either throw it away 
or dispose of it to the best advantage, without its being eaten by 
the convicts. 



214 [Assembly 

Q. Do you invariably report to the agent every case of this cha- 
recter ? 

A. I do every case of any importance. 

Q. Do you know of any convict going away from the table without 
having sufficient food? 

A. I have had them come to me and say that they did not have 
enough. I always supplied them in such cases. 

Q. Have you waiters who go among the convicts at meal time, to 
supply those who desire more than is put upon their plates? 

A. I have, at breakfast and dinner. The convicts take their sup- 
per in their cells, which consists of mush or rice and molasses, or 
bread and molasses, according to the taste of the convict. 

Q. Have you inflicted any punishments since you have been keep- 
er; if so, in what manner? 

A. I have, by showering, dungeon, and shaving the head. 
Q. Do you know of any cases where convicts have been injured 
by punishment. 
A. I do not. 

Q. When you first came here, how were the rations supplied, and 
how are they now? 

A. When T first came, by contract; they are now supplied by the 
agent, and I think the change was made in 1849. 

Q. Which way of supply do you regard as preferable? 
■ A. The supply by the agent I regard as far preferable. 
Q. Do you know of any case where a convict has died from any 
other cause than ordinary disease. 
A. I do. 

Q. "What other cases? 

A. There have been two convicts drowned in the river; one in an 
attempt to get away, I think. The other got off the dock, I sup- 
pose for the purpose of learning to swim. There have been two or 
three killed, one by being caught in the engine in the shop, and 
another by the bursting of a grindstone. In each of the above cases, 
a co-oner's inquest was held. 

Q. Do you know, have you any reason to believe, or have you 
heard it reported that at any time since you have been here, the 
death of any convict has been superinduced by punishment inflicted 
upon him? 

A. I do not know, have not any reason to believe, nor have I 
heard anything of the kind. 

Q. Have you any suggestions to make in regard to the food and 
health of the convicts? 
A. I have none. 



No. 20.] 215 

Oct. 21. 

Munson J. Lockwood recalled: 

Q. How are your purchases for the prison made, on credit or for 
cash? 

A. Some for cash and some on credit, I always pay cash when I 
have it. 

Q. Do you think any appropriation from the State will be neces- 
sary to defray the current expenses of the current year of this prison? 

A. I think not from the present appearances of the finances of this 
prison. 

Q. Do you think any appropriation will be necessary to pay the 
prior indebtedness of this prison; if yea, what amount? 

A. The $14,000 appropriated last winter was not sufficient to pay 
the indebtedness of this prison prior to October 1, 1850, into some- 
thing like $4,000, or near that amount, of which sum of $4,000 I 
have paid from the earnings of the year ending Sept. 30, 1851, 
about $2,500, leaving about $1,700 now due of said old debts as fol- 
lows: 

To R. Quimby, for supplies, about - - $1,200 00 
Wm. Radford, in judgment, about 

Romer and Riggs, judgment, about - - 250 00 
Marshall and Stevens, judgment, about - - 100 00 

Q. Have any other than ordinary expenses been incurred by this 
prison during the last fiscal year; if so, state what? 

A. There have; I have built two new shops, one of stone with 
slate roof, the other of part stone, and the rest of wood; they have 
been paid for, and cost about $3,500. 

Q. Are any other than ordinary expenses in contemplation to be 
incurred during the fiscal year commencing Oct. 1, 1851? 

A. None that I know of, except a small building for offices for 
the chaplain and warden, which will cost about $1,500, taking into 
the account the labor of convicts in building; this is intended to be 
paid out of the receipts of the prison. 

Q. Do you make your purchases for supplies on as favorable terms 
on credit as you do for cash? 

A. Some articles I do, such as clothing, &c, but provisions 1 
think I can purchase on better terms for cash than on credit. 

Q. Are convicts allowed to do overwork for pay? 

A. They are in some of the shops. 

Q. Have you ever heard any complaints from convicts growing 
out of this overwork, or of injuries from overwork? 

A. I have not; the overwork is voluntary on the part of the con- 
victs, they are not compelled to do overwork* 



216 [Assembly 

Q. Who gets the pay for this overwork? 

A. The convicts, as I presume; since I have been here I have re- 
fused to receive it on deposit for the convicts? 

Q. Have convicts been allowed to receive this pay and retain it 
in their hands? 

A. I think not; but the contractor keeps the account and pays the 
convict when his sentence has expired, as I am informed; I have 
seen them paid in a number of instances. 

Q. Do you personally purchase the supplies for this prison? 

A. I do. 

Q. Are all the provisions purchased of a wholesome and good 
quality ? 

A. They are, and if after delivery any are found not to be so, it 
is immediately returned; I feed mess pork and mess beef, and have 
done so since I have been agent, and I regard it more econominal 
than any other grades of pork or beef. 

Q. Are you in the habit of visiting the kitchen daily and person- 
ally inspecting the provisions purchased, to ascertain if they are the 
same as purchased by you? 

A. I am, except when absent from town. 

Q. How many cells are there in this prison? 

A. One thousand in the male prison, and eighty-one in the fe- 
male. 

Chauncey J. Smith sworn. 

Q. Where do you reside? 

A. White Plains, Westchester Co. 

Q. Have you been agent of the Sing Sing Prison, and during 
what period? 

A. I have; from January, 1848, to January, 1819. 

Q. Who was your successor in office? 

A. Alfred R. Booth. 

Q. W T as the railroad through the prison yard constructed during 
your agency? 

A. It was commenced during the time I was agent. 

Q. Who had the contract for its construction? 

A. Messrs. Grant & Cobb. 

Q. What were the terms to be paid by them for convict labor, a& 
named in the contract made by them with the State for the construc- 
tion of said portion of said railroad? 

A. I think it was 60 cents per day for each convict. 

Q. Did the contractors pay this price? 

A. They did so long as I was agent. 



NO.20.J 217 

Q. Was there a rule entered in the minute book of the Board of 
Inspectors, directing the agent to reduce the price per day of the men 
on said contract to 40 cents? 

A. There was a rule entered by the Inspector in charge, Mr. Com- 
stock, on the 6th day of December, 1848, as follows: 

"The agent was directed to charge Cobb & Grant 40 cents per 
day for the railroad men on and after the 1 5th day of November 
last." 

Q. Did you comply with this rule while you was agent? 

A. I did not; but charged for the men 60 cents per day; but I find 
on the 162d page of the annual report of the Inspectors of State Pri- 
sons, made to the Legislature January 4, 1850, the sum of $377.20 
was refunded by my successor A. R. Booth to Grant & Cobb, for 
over charge during November and December, 1848, which I believe 
to be the difference between 40 and 60 cents per day for the labor of 
convicts employed by said Cobb & Grant during said months of No- 
vember and December, 1848. 

Q. Were any reasons given to you by the Inspector in charge for 
this reduction in price? 

A. There was something said to me, but whether before or after 
the rule I cannot state, that a greater number of men were employed 
in the quarries than could be profitably employed during the cold 
weather, and that possibly Grant & Cobb would decline going on 
with their contract until spring, when the days would be longer, and 
they could get a larger amount of labor for each convict per day. 

[The time books for the convicts employed on the railroad con- 
tract, show, that during the months of January, February and March,. 
1S49, the contractors were charged 40 cents per day for labor, and 
that during January, February, March, certain other contracts were 
let at 30 cents per day to said railroad contractors.] 

Q. While you were agent, were convicts ever employed at labor 
on Sunday? 

A. There were a few at work one Sunday morning turning water 
on the embankment to wash ofT the dirt from the rocks; Mr. Wells^ 
the warden, and a keeper, were with them. This was while the rail- 
road was being constructed through the prison ground. 

Q. Was you in the habit of being in and about the prison during 
your term of office? 

A. Yes sir; generally speaking I was in every day. 

Q. Do yon know that the warden or any of the keepers'* ever 
struck any convict with a cane or other instrument? 

A. I know of but one instance; the case was a black man whc* 



218 [Assembly 

refused to go in the shower bath; the warden struck him with a 
hickory cane, on the head I think, and the blow took the bark off 
the cane. 

Q. Did you ever witness any cruel punishments? 

A. I consider the shower bath a very cruel punishment. I have 
seen several showered in the winter when the water was so cold it 
froze on the floor as it fell. There would be chunks of ice in the 
barrel at the time. 

Q. Have you ever seen any officer of this prison intoxicated 
while on duty? 

A. I think I have; one person, a number of times, he is now 
dead. There were others in the habit of drinking while not on duty, 
so as to impair their usefulness as officers. 

Q. Which do you consider the best mode of furnishing provisions 
for the convicts, by contract, or under the direction of the agent. 

A. Under the direction of the agent. 

Q. Did you ever have any difficulty with contractors while you 
were agent, as to the amount of work to be performed by convicts; if 
so, please state the nature of it? 

A. I had, with Hotchkiss and Smith. They found fault with 
the quantity of work performed by their men. They complained 
that the men were not required to perform as much work as they 
could easily do. 

Q. Do you know any other matter relating to the management or 
affairs of this prison, which you wish to communicate? 

A. At present, I do not. 

Minot M. Wells sworn. 

Q. Are you the chaplain in the Sing Sing Prison, if so during 
what time? 

A. I am, and have been since April 1, 1851. 

Q. What portion of your time do you devote to your duties? 

A. I usually spend one-half of each day at the prison, during the 
week days; on Sundays I hold service in the male chapel, also in 
the female chapel, in the morning and in the afternoon generally I 
hold service in the hospital, and visit convicts on the gallerys. 

Q. Do you visit the convicts at their cells during the week ? 

A. I am not in the habit of so doing. 

Q. What number of books are there in the prison library, and 
what is there condition? 

A. They have not been examined since I have been here, and I 
don't know the number, except from the report of the last chaplain. 
There are enough to supply all the convicts, at least a book for each. 



No. 20.] 219 

I am expecting this week 150 or 200 volumes, which I have re- 
cently purchased. 

Q. Do the convicts make any complaints to you of their treat- 
ment? 

A. I have occasional complaints, as for instance, that they are not 
well enough to work, but they are very rare. 

Q. What heed do you give to their complaints? 

A. I usually refer them to the officer having charge of these mat- 
ters, or represent the case to the warden. 

Q. Do you make a quarterly report to the. Inspectors, as to the 
instruction of the convicts. 

A. I have thus far. 

Q. How many instructors are there employed at this prison? 

A. Two in the male, and one in the female prison. 

Q. What suggestions have you to make in regard to the mental 
and moral improvement of the convicts? 

A. I will communicate my suggestions if T have any to make. 

Oct. 22. 

Nicholas J. Green sworn. 

Q. Are you one of the instructors in the Sing Sing Prison, if so 
during what time? 

A. I am, and have been since May, 1848, with the exception of 
about 6 months, when I was ill. 

Q. How much time do you devote to your duties each day? 

A. An hour and a quarter on each evening for five evenings 
during each week; we are here to commence our duties at 6 o'clock 
P. M., and generally leave at 7| P. M. 

Q. What branches do you teach? 

A. Spelling, reading, writing on slate, and arithmetic as far as 
the rule of three. 

Q. How many are you able to teach in an evening? 

A. From 6 to 10 usually. 

Q. Is there a Sunday school kept in this prison? 

A. Not that I know of. 

Q. Have any complaints been made to you by the convicts, in 
regard to their treatment generally? 

A. I have occasionally heard complaints, hut very seldom, and 
they were not of a serious character. 

Q. Have any cases of severe or unusual punishment come 
to your knowledge since you have been engaged in this prison? 

A. No sir; noiie that I consider severe. 

Q. What is your salary? 

A. $150 per year. 



220 | Assembly 

Q. How many different convicts do you suppose you are able to 
teach during a year? 

A. I should think about 100. 

Q. Have you any suggestions to make in regard to your depart- 
ment; if so, please state. 

A. I have some. It would conduce greatly to the improvement of 
the convicts if they could have light sufficient to study by, in the 
evening; and a change in the arithmetic now used. I think there 
should be a large supply of better school books. I also think there 
should be a larger number of instructors, or a sufficient inducement 
offered for the present instructors to devote the whole of their time 
to their duties. 

Benjamin Kellogg sworn. 

Q. Are you one of the instructors in the Sing Sing prison; if so, 
during what time? 

A. I am, and have been for about two years last past. 
Q. Have you heard the examination of Mr. Green, your colleague? 
and do your duties and practice correspond with his as stated? 
A. I have. They correspond. 

Q. Do you know of any instance where cruel punishment has 
been inflicted upon any convict? 
A. I do not. 

Q. Have any complaints been made to you by convicts of their 
treatment generally? 
A. There have not. 

Q. Have you any suggestions to make in regard to the manage- 
ment of the prison in your department? 

A. I have none other than those stated by my colleague. I agree 
with him as to the deficiency in books and light. 
Amos Babcock recalled. 

Q. It appears from the railroad time book kept b> you in 1849, 
that the labor performed by the convicts on the contract of Grant & 
Cobb in the construction of the railroad through the prison grounds, 
amounting to 5087| days, was charged by you at 40 cents per day 
only during January, February and March, 1849. Can you state the 
reason the labor was charged at that price when the contract price 
was 60 cents per day? 

A. I cannot. I supposed at the time it was in consequence of the 
shortness of the days. 

Q. Do you recollect under whose instructions it was done? 

A. I do not. 

Q, Who had charge of the other men working on the railroad? 



No. 20.] 221 

A. Mr. Ballou had charge of a few men for two or three months, 
I think. 

Q. It appears from railroad time book No. 1, that there were 
2,308f day's work done on the same work, and in the same months 
of January, February and March, 1849, for the same contractors, 
Grant & Cobb, which were charged at 30 cents per day, which men 
are called in said time book No. 1, "file men." Can you explain 
why it was so? 

A. The file contract of this prison was abandoned by the failure 
of the contractor, the men were out of employ, and I suppose the 
railroad contractors proposed to pay for them 30 cents per day, and I 
suppose the agent thought it better to let them at that price, than 
have them unemployed. 

Q. Do you know of any officer of the prison at that time being in 
any way interested in the contract of Grant & Cobb? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Have you learned from the contractors, Grant & Cobb, any- 
thing in regard to the amount made by them on their contract for the 
construction of said railroad through the prison grounds? 

A. I have never heard anything from them. 

Q. Were any of the officers of the prison during 1848 and 1849, 
related to either of the railroad contractors, Grant & Cobb? 

A. I believe one of the contractors, Mr. Cobb, is the nephew of 
Mr. Wells, who was warden up to January, 1849, and since that 
time has been one of the Inspectors of State Prisons. 

The following is a copy of a rule entered in book of Inspectors 
minutes, kept at Sing Sing Prison by A. H. Wells, as Inspector in 
charge, dated March 13, 1849. 

" The agent is hereby directed to charge Grant & Cobb, the rail- 
road contractors, thirty-five cents per day for all the men who have 
been employed on their contract, coming from the file shop and not 
included among those already accounted for at 40 cts. per day. The 
agent is further directed to charge Grant & Cobb, sixty cents per 
day for all the men employed on their railroad work, from and after 
the first day of April next." 

The following entered Dec. 6, 1848, by I. N, Comstock, Inspector 
in charge, to wit : 

The agent was directed to charge Cobb & Grant, 40 cents per 
day for the railroad men, on and after the 15th day of November 
last. 

It also appears from the same book, that a meeting of the Board 
of Inspectors, January 15, 1849: Present, I. N. Comstock and A. 



222 [Assembly 

H. Wells, the following resolution was adopted on motion of A. H. 
Wells. 

" Resolved, That the minutes above alluded to (including the next 
above order dated Dec. 6, 1848,) be approved by the Board of In- 
spectors, and the appointments confirmed." 

George Washbun, sworn: 

Q. Are you a keeper in the Sing Sing prison, if so, from what 
time? 

A. I am, and have been since February 1, 1851. 

Q. In what shop? 
A. The file shop. 

Q. Have you been connected with prison before this time? 

A. I have been guard from 24th November, 1846, to 24th Octo- 
ber, 1847. 

Q. How many convicts have you under your charge? 

A. I have 30 at present in my shop, but lock up 50. 

Q. What course have you adopted in the punishment of convicts? 

A. I generally report offences to the warden and punish as he di- 
rects. 

Q. Do you ever punish without any direction? 

A. I have in two instances, by locking them up in dark cells. 

Q. Have you ever punished by the direction of any other person 
than the warden? 

A. I have by the direction of Robert Lent, the architect, in the 
absence of the warden. 

Q. Do you report in writing the punishment inflicted by you? 

A. I do, and they are all entered in the book of punishments ex- 
cept two, which I have above mentioned. 

Q. What punishments are usually inflicted by you? 

A. Dark cells and shower baths, and sometimes yoke. 

Q. How much water do you usually use in showering? 

A. I have never given a man over two barrels, with one excep- 
tion, when I gave three barrels, I think. 

Q. Are you instructed as to the quantity in each case? 

A. Never. 

Q. Is the punishment by the shower bath usually dreaded by the 
convicts? 

A. By some it is, by others it is not. 

Q. Have you known any injury to any convict from showering, or 
of any complaints from convicts of injuries by showering? 

A. I have not known of any injury, and have never heard but one 



No. 20.] 223 

convict complain of being injured. He complained of having re- 
ceived a severe cold from being showered. 

Q. Of the 50 men under your charge, how many require frequent 
punishment ; how many occasionally, and how many no punishment? 

A. Three require frequent, about twenty occasional, and the re- 
mainder none at all. 

Q. At what time of the day do the smartest of your men get 
through with their day's work? 

A. The smartest by half-past one o'clock P. M. in many instances, 
but do not do it every day; and I think one-half of my men get 
through by half-past two P. M. 

Q. How do they occupy their time after through their day's work? 

A, In reading, which I allow. Some of them do overwork after 
their day's work. 

Q. Do they receive any pay for overwork? 

A. I presume they do; sometimes in books while in prison, and 1 
I presume sometimes in money when discharged. 

Q. Are there any evils from overwork in your opinion? 

A. 1 have known but one instance of injury from overwork. This 
convict I stopped from doing overwork. I think there would not be 
one-half the punishments inflicted in my shop if the men worked all 
the time. 

Q. Do you know of any officers of this prison receiving any pre- 
sents or gifts from the contractors? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Are convicts ever required to work on Sunday? 

A. They are in these instances. They are taken out, four of them 
under my charge, to clean the boiler in my shop, on the first Sunday 
in every month. I do not charge this labor of the convicts to the 
contractors. I expect to receive pay from the contractor for super- 
intending them while doing this work. They are occupied about 
one and a half hours at each time. This is all the Sunday work I 
know of. 

Q. How often do the physician and chaplain visit your shop? 

A. The physician never, and the chaplain seldom. 

Q. How often does the warden? 

A. About every day. 

Samuel Auser, sworn: 

Q. Are you a keeper in the Sing Sing prison; if yea, during what 
time? 

A. I am, and have been a little more than four months. 

Q. In what shop? 



224 [Assembly 

A. The brass shop. 

Q. How many men have you under your charge? 

A. From twenty-five to thirty; I have charge of only a part of 
ihe shop. 

Q. Who has charge of the other part? 

A. Mr. John Ashton. 

Q. Please state your practice in regard to punishment of convicts 
in case of disobedience? 

A. In the first place I report the offence to the warden in writing; 
he prescribes the punishment, if any; and if he directs me to inflict 
it I do so; if the warden is not present, I report the punishment in 
the report book. 

Ephraim S, Hall sworn. 

Q. Are you a keeper in the Sing Sing prison, if yea, during what 
time? 

A. I am at present relief keeper, and have been keeper since 
February 1, 1848. 

Q. How much of that time have you been relief keeper? 

A. Since August 1, 1851. 

Q. What shop were you keeper of ? 

A. Brass shop. 

Q. How many convicts had you under your charge while keeper? 

A. 40 to 50 directly, but I kept the time book for the whole shop 
containing from 80 to 100 men. 

Q. Who was the contractor and who is now? 

A. Wm J. Buck was to January 1849, and Joseph J. Lewis is 
now. 

Q. Has the system of punishment been the same since you have 
been keeper this last time? 

A. It has with slight variation. 

Q. Have you been keeper before this present term, and during 
what time? 

A. I have, and from 1840 to 1843. 

Q. What was the mode of punishment then? 

A. The cat was used. 

Q. Were the punishments more or less frequent during your first 
term than the present? 

A. They were more frequent. 

Q. Has the discipline of the prison changed since that time, if so, 
how? 

A. I don't know that there has been any material change, I think 
the conduct of the men is full as good, if not better, than it was then, 
10 years ago. 



No. 20.] 225 

Q. How do the convicts compare in cheerfulness, now, with then? 

A. I think them more cheerful now, than then 

Q. How do the punishments compare in severity now, with then? 

A. I think they are not as severe now, as then. They punished 
then with the cat, and the average, then, was from 5 to 10 lashes; 
I have known one cass where 100 lashes were inflicted. The pun- 
ishments now are privation of food, dark cell, shower bath, yoke and 
poke. 

Q. Of the punishments now inflicted, which do you consider the 
most severe? 

A. The shower bath and yoke. The yoke is not used except in 
cases where the bath will not produce the effect, and I think that not 
one man in a thousand could stand up under the 40 pound yoke for 
four hours. 

Q. Have you known of any injuries being produced by the shower 
bath or yoke? 

A. I don't know that I have, but still I think the shower bath 
more injurious to the health of the convicts than the cat, I form my 
opinion from observation and from the testimomy of convicts, who 
have experienced both kinds of punishment. The danger from the 
shower bath arises from its different effects upon different constitu- 
tions. 

Q. Have you known of convicts being struck by any officer, 
except in self defence, during your present term of office? 

A. I have not, unless this may be a case; a keeper struck a 
convict by the name of Mathews with a cane, who was attacking 
Purdy, another keeper, with a knife and fork. The convict inflicted 
several blows upon Purdy. 

Q. Do you remember Barney Smith, a convict? 

A. I do, but do not know anything of his treatment. 

Q. Have you known any keeper intoxicated while on duty? 

A. I have, and they were discharged the next day I think. 

Q. Is it the duty of the several officers to report the infractions of 
the rules and regulations by keepers or other officers? 

A. It is. 

Q. What in your opinion is the offect of the frequent change of 
keepers upon the discipline of the prison? 

A. I think injurious, one reason is, it brings in persons ignorant 
of the discipline of the prison and strangers to the convicts; the 
number of punishments increases on a change of keepers very 
largely. 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 15 



226 [Assembly 

Q. What proportion of the keepers have been changed during the 
present year? 

A. 21 out of 30, I think. 

JoakimUrmy sworn: 

Q. Are you a keeper in the Sing Sing prison; if yea, during what 
time? 

A. I am, and have been since July 1, 1850. 

Q. In what shop? 

A. In the hat shop. 

Q. How many convicts have you under your charge? 

A. From 60 to 70, but there are three departments in said shop, 
requiring three keepers, and I keep the time of all the men in all the 
departments. 

Q. Who is the contractor? 

A. Charles Watson. 

Q. How many men are there on this contract? 

A. 107 now, 104 full pay, and 3 half pay, 

Q. Why are these 3 half pay men? 

A. They are disabled, not able bodied men. 

Q. Who decides whether the convicts shall be charged as full or 
half pay men? 

A. I have received my directions thus far from the physician in 
regard to half pay men. 

Q. How often does the warden visit your shop? 

A. Daily I think. 

Q. How many of the convicts under your special charge are fre- 
quently punished, how many occasionally, and how many not at all? 

A. None that I have punished the second time; I think I have 
punished but five or six for 16 months past. 

Q. How did you punish? 

A. About half by shower bath, and the other by dark cell. 

Q. What proportion of your men perform their daily task before 
bell time? 

A. They all do from half to three hours before bell time. 

Q. How do those who have finished their tasks at an early hour 
employ their time. 

A. In reading and study of arithmetic, but are to be quiet. 

Oct 23. 

Q. Have you been keeper of this prison previous to your present 
term of office; if so, during what period? 

A. I have, for five years subsequent to 1834. 

Q. What was the mode of punishment at that time ? 



No. 20.] 227 

A. The cat. 

Q. How does the discipline of the present time compare with it 
at that time ? 

A. In my opinion the discipline is not as stringent now as then 
in the enforcement of rules. A greater liberty is allowed, and still 
the general discipline is as favorable to the interests of all concerned, 
the convict, the State, and the contractor. 

Q. Do they appear to be as cheerful and contented now as then ? 

A. They appear to be more so. 

Q. How do the number of punishments compare ? 

A. They are not as frequent, nor as severe. 

Q. How does the punishment by the shower bath in your opinion 
compare with that by the cat ? 

A. I don't think the shower bath as effectual as the cat, but more 
dangerous. 

Q. Please state the circumstances of the punishment of Pierce, a 
convict under your charge in 1850. 

A. This Pierce had been breaking the rules, and I gave him to 
understand that if he persisted in it I should cause him to be pun- 
ished. I repeated his case to the warden (Mr. Porter,) and was di- 
rected to put him in the dark cell. I sent him with a note to the 
keeper, whose duty it was to lock him up. Instead of going as 
directed, he went to another officer and got him to read the note to 
him. After learning the contents of the note, he returned to me and 
insisted that he would not go to the dark cell. I endeavored to en- 
force the punishment, when he seized a hatchet and assumed a me- 
nacing attitude, but finally I induced him to put the hatchet down 
without using physical force. I reported the case to the warden and 
he ordered him put in the yoke, and the warden assisted in adjusting 
it. After its remaining on him perhaps an hour and a half he ex- 
pressed contrition, and I then took it off. He was disabled for about 
one day, his neck being sore and stiff, it being caused by the yoke. 

This I regarded as the punishment of the warden, he being pres- 
ent at the time and directing it. 

Q. Please state the circumstances of the punishment of Johnson, 
a negro, but now in prison under the name of Williams. 

A. He refused to work at the business he was put at. I reported 
him to the warden, and he was ordered to be yoked. Was yoked 4 
hours; the yoke was taken off. He w r as very sore and remained in 
his cell for nearly two weeks. He was then taken to the shop, and 
still refused to work at his business sizing hats. I remonstrated with 
him, and upon being assured that he would be compelled to do this 



228 [Assembly 

business, he seized a hatchet and cut three fingers of his left hand so 
as to disable him from doing this work. 

I don't think it was necessary for him to remain in his cell for the 
time he did. He imagined he was disabled from the yoke, but I 
think he was not. 

He was determined to get out of the shop, and he took this course 
to get out. He had been in this prison before, and was a desperate 
fellow. 

The warden was present when this punishment was inflicted, and 
directed it, and I did not regard it as any punishment but his. 

He is now at work in the quarries, and as I am informed is a well 
behaved convict. 

These are the only cases in which 1 have taken any part in the 
punishment by the yoke. 

Robert Lent, sworn. 

Q. How long have you been an officer of this prison? 

A. I have been connected about twenty years. I came here first 
under Lynds as keeper, and was keeper until about six years ago. 
Then for about three years I was contractor's agent in the file shop; 
after that I was appointed keeper and architect. I have been such 
since January 7, 1848. 

Q. What was the mode of punishment of convicts when you were 
first keeper? 

A. The cat; there was one in every shop. 

Q. How do the punishments compare at present with that period 
as to number, severity, and frequency? 

A. Punishment is not as frequent now as then, nor as severe. 

Q. What was the general discipline then as compared with now? 

A. The discipline was more strict then, and convicts were not al- 
lowed as many privileges then as now. 

Q. How does the general deportment of convicts compare," then 
with now. 

A. I think it is as good now as then. 

Q. How do they compare as to cheerfulness and contentment? 

A. I think they are now more cheerful and contented. 

Q. During the time you were first keeper, do you know of any 
case where injury was inflicted by the cat? 

A. I don't recollect any; I have seen a great many men whipped 
with the cat. I have heard that a convict was whipped so bad that 
he was sent to the hospital; and this was for throwing a sledge ham- 
mer at a keeper, as I was informed. 



No. 20. J 229 

Q. Who prescribed the amount of punishment when the cat was 
used? 

I believe every keeper used his own judgment. 

Q. Were keepers then required to report the amount of punish- 
ment? 

A. They were not when I first came here, but before I left the 
first time, a rule was made that they should report punishments. 
They were reported to the deputy keeper. 

Q. Over what shop was you appointed in 1848. 

A. None. I had charge of the carpenters and masons, state hands, 
in building the dye house for Hotchkiss & Smith, contractors, when 
I first came. I have charge of building and repairs, but no charge 
of any particular class of convicts or shop. I went into the quarry 
when they had any particular stone to get out, and had charge of a 
lot of men when they were introducing the Croton water into the 
prison. 

Q. Do the rules of the prison prescribe the particular duties of the 
architect? 

A. I don't know that they do? 

Q. What have been your particular duties as keeper and archi- 
tect since 1848, and by whom prescribed? 

A. Superintending the building and repairs, and I take my direc- 
tion from the agent and warden. 

Q. Have you any other duties? 

A. 1 have had the charge of placing keepers by the direction of 
the warden, or changing them; I make all bills for getting out stone, 
and the shipping. 1 suppose I have the same charge over all the 
convicts the keepers do, by direction of the warden; have the charge 
of placing the convicts in shops, when directed by the agent and 
warden. 

Q. Are all the convicts of the prison under charge of some keeper 
or guard other than yourself? 

A. They are. 

Q. Have you any authority over the convicts under charge of 
other heepers and guards? 

A. I have no direct authority. 

Q. Have you any right to punish convicts for disobedience? 

A. I have none, unless the warden directs me to punish. 

Q. Have you any authority to prescribe punishments to keepers. 

A. I have none, except in the absence of the warden and agent. 

Q. Do you know of any regulations or rules adopted by the In- 
spectors at any time, conferring on you any particular powers or du- 
ties, in the absence of the agent or warden, or both? 



230 [Assembly 

A. I do not. I have never seen any, written or printed. 

Q. Is it made your duty to report to the officers all disobedience on 
the part of the convicts? 

A. It is. The warden has required all keepers to report all diso- 
bedience of orders on the part of convicts; first, to the keeper in 
charge of the convict; the keeper in charge is required to report to 
the w r arden. There have been cases under the present and two for- 
mer wardens in which punishment has been prescribed by me with- 
out consulting the said wardens, under a general direction from them. 

Q. Are you ever required by the warden to be present and assist 
at punishments? 

A. Yes sir; and have been present and assisted. 

Q. What has been your salary as keeper and architect? 

A. In 1848 and 1849 it was $800 per year; since then it has 
been $1200. 

Q. How long has the office of architect been in existence in this 
prison? 

A. Ever since I have been connected with the prison; sometimes 
called architect and sometimes builder. 

Q. Was the office of keeper connected with that of architect be- 
fore you were appointed architect and keeper? 

A. I think it was. 

Q. Is it a part of your duty as architect to furnish specifications 
and plans for any building to be erected in this prison? 

A. Yes sir. 

Q. Who drew the plan of the mess room and chapel? 

A. James Smith, a builder of New- York. 

Q. Do you know how much he was paid? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Why was he employed to do it? 

A. I was sick at the time, confined to my bed. The Inspectors 
were in a hurry to go on with it, and when I got out they had the 
plans of Smith, and the work of erection had not commened. I was 
confined to my bed at that time for two weeks, and very ill. 

Q. Have you furnished any plans and specifications for any build- 
ings since you have been architect? 

A.. I have, for all the buildings built since I have held such office* 
and required or wanted. 

Q. Have any cases of severe or unusual punishments come to your 
knowledge, occurring within the last 4 or 5 years? 

A. I don't recollect of any. 

Q. Has there been any cases where you have had to use blows to 
enforce obedience or in self-defence? if so state them. 



No. 20.] 231 

A. There has; the case of Owen Tierning, a year or two ago. 
The first I knew of it the hall keeper sent for rne, and said Tierning 
was on the gallery and had driven him off. Tierning was a hall 
boy. I went where Tierning was and asked him what the trouble 
was between him and his keeper; he said the keeper wanted him to 
do something and he would not do it. I asked him to come with 
me and see the warden; he refused at first, and finally he came with 
me as far as the keeper's hall, and would not go any further. He 
turned to go back; I took hold of him to stop him, and he struck me 
with his fist; I then struck him twice with my fist, I think. Then 
the warden came; I threw him down and held him until he pro- 
mised to behave himself; he promised, and then the warden took 
him away; he tore my shirt and the buttons off my vest; he kicked 
me and beat me very bad during the scuffle; I did not strike him 
while he was down. I don't know of any case as bad as this hap- 
pening within the past five years. 

Q. Did you ever strike a convict with a cane or other weapon 
since the cat was abolished? 

A. I have; I struck a black convict by the name of Cary with a 
cane, and I took it from a keeper near me; I never have carried a 
cane since I have been connected with the prison. Cary had a knife 
in his hand, and was assaulting the warden when I struck him. 

Q. Please state the case of Barney Smith. 

A. Smith was at work in the quarry, and I think he was mad at 
me because I made him go to church; he threw a stone at me w T hich 
weighed nearly four pounds and hit me on the back near the neck, which 
knocked me down on my knees; I recovered, and with the assistance 
of his keeper, threw him down; I think the keeper bit him with a 
stick; I had not had any words with him for some days previous. 
After he had knocked me down with the stone, he got it again, and 
I took it away from him; I don't know what was done with him, 
for I went to look after myself, and I don't know that he was pun- 
ished for this offence. 

Q. Do you know of any case since January, 1848, in which a 
colored convict, after being showered, was attacked by yourself or 
any other keeper, in which a scuffle ensued by which he was injured? 

A. I don't recollect any such case. 

Q. Did you ever inflict any punishment upon Catharine Logan, if 
so, state the particulars ? 

A. I have assisted in putting the straight jacket upon two or 
three female convicts, whose names I don't now recollect. This 
w T ns done by the direction of the matron, and in her presence, I 
think; I have no recollection of assisting in the punishment of any 



232 [Assembly 

other female convicts except in putting an iron yoke upon a black 
woman, who had struck the matron and knocked her down, injuring 
her very much. This black woman is kept in close confinement, 
and has been ever since this affair. 

Q. Please state the case of S. Acherman. 

A. Acherman undertook to make an escape about three years 
ago ; he painted an image on a paste board and put it in his cell, 
and made false fingers and stuck them in the grate of the door ; he 
stayed in his shop instead of coming to his cell at night. The 
keeper who locked him up saw the image and fingers, and reported 
all was right ; I asked him to go back and look in his cell and see 
what he was doing; he went to the door and looked in and started 
back; then he opened the door and the image fell down. I then 
reported that a man was missing ; he was searched for, and I found 
him in the water closet ; I asked him what he was doing there ; he 
said he was going to get away if he could; I told him to come out 
twice; he did not come out, I took him by the ear and led him out; 
other keepers came up and Leggett, a keeper said to him why don't 
you go faster; Acherman turned round and said don't put your hands 
on me, he was hurried along to his cell and was not struck by any 
body to my knowledge, either at that time or at any other, to my 
knowledge. 

Barto W. Powell sworn. 

Q. Have you been keeper m the Sing Sing prison, if so during 
what time ? 

A. I have, from January, 1848, to Aug. 1851, and during that 
time had charge of the masons, 1 was also keeper from Dec. 1834 
to 1838, and from 1840 to 1842. 

Q. How do the punishments in this prison formerly, compare with 
those since 1848, as to frequency and severity ? 

A. They were far more frequent and severe formerly than at 
present. 

Q. How does the deportment or behavior of the convicts compare? 

A. I think the general behavior now is better than formerly. 

Q. How do they compare as to cheerfulness and contentment ? 

A. I think they are more cheerful and contented now, than for- 
merly. 

Q. What is the cause of this change, in your opinion 1 

A. They are treated more humane, and a greater interest seems 
to be taken in the welfare of the convicts^ 

Q. Do you think that the change f! tire modes of punishment has 
improved the discipline of the prison ? 

A. I should think not. 



No. 20.] 233 

Q. Did you know Barney Smith, a convict? 
A. I did. 

Q Please state the affair between him and Mr. Lent. 

A. Lent and myself were standing at the wej>t door of the yard 
when the men were going into the prison, I saw Smith stoop down 
and take up a stone. He threw the stone and it hit Lent on the 
back of the neck I think. I then caught Smith and threw him on 
the ground. Smith then got up, and Lent took him in charge. Smith 
kept fighting all he could. I think we took him and put him in his 
cell. I don't recollect that any blows were struck during the affray. 
I think he was subsequently showered for the offence, but knew 
nothing of it. This is all that I know of Smith's being punished at 
any time. 

Q. How are you now engaged? 

A. I am an agent for the contractor in the file and brass shops. 

October 24. 

Amelia M. Dodge, sworn. 

Q. Are you the matron of the female prison at Sing Sing; if so, 
during what time have you been such? 

A. I am, and have been since November, 1849. 

Q. How many assistants have you? 

A. Four; also a teacher. 

Q. In what employments are the female convicts engaged? 

A. In hat trimming and doing work for the State. Those at hat 
trimming do all the work that can be obtained. They work by the 
piece and are not let by the day. Those not engaged in hat trim- 
ming make clothing for the female convicts, and as much of the 
clothing for the male prison as they have time to do. 

Q. Do you require of them a certain amount of labor for a day's 
work? 

A. I do. They are able to complete their tasks easily; some of 
them. do so by 3 o'clock P. M., after which they spend their time in 
reading, attending school, or in work if they prefer. They all have 
time for exercise in the open air morning and evening, which I re- 
quire of them. We have a teacher who comes to the prison every 
afternoon to instruct them in reading, writing and spelling. We 
also have a Sunday school which is taught generally by myself and 
assistants. 

Q. How often does th^fluplain and physician visit your depart- 

A. The chaplain, eveiy^HPKy, when he holds service, and occa- 
sionally during the week; the physician, every day. 



234 [Assembly 

Q. What modes of punishments do you use in the female prison? 

A. Confining them in their own cells with bread and water, dark 
cells, confining them in the outer ward. We put them in the straight 
jacket, and use the gag, in extreme cases. We use the gag to pre- 
serve quiet in the prison, and for this purpose only. No blows have 
been inflicted upon a female convict except in one instance, where a 
female attacked Mr. Lent. A record is kept of all the punishments. 

Q. How many children are there in the prison belonging to con- 
victs, and what are their ages? 

A. Two; one about 9 months old and the other about 18 months 
old. 

Q. Do the convicts under your charge make any well-founded com- 
plaints as to their food? 

A. They seldom make any complaints of any character, but when 
they are made I have found them not well-founded. 

Q. What is the general deportment of the convicts under your 
charge? 

A. It is good, and very few of them are punished. The punish* 
ments as a general thing are confined to a few of them. 

Levi S. Peck sworn: 

Q. Are you a keeper in Sing Sing prison; if so, during what time 
and in what department? 

A. I am, and have bten keeper since Feb. 1851, in the hospital; 
I have been here before, as teacher, about five months. 

Q. What is the average number of patients in the hospital? 

A. Ordinarily about 12, except during the prevalence of an epide- 
mic, when we have had as many as 40. 

Q. Have any convicts been sent to the hospital from the effects of 
punishment; if so, state the cases? 

A. Yes sir, one from the effects of the yoke, and several from the 
effects of the shower-bath; those from the shower bath complained of 
heaviness about the head and sickness at the stomach; these came up 
for relief but did not remain. The convict who came from the ef- 
fects of the yoke, remained during the day; he complained of stiff- 
ness in the joints; he was swollen about the wrists and about the 
week. 

Q. How many cases of insanity have come under your observa- 
tion? 

A. One, who was temporarily insan^fctising from masturbation. 

Q. What are the most prevalent JJSH requiring hospital treat- 

™ |r 

A. Colds, coughs and rheumatism during the fall and winter months 
and in my opinion arising mainly from dampness of the cells. 



No. 20.] 235 

Q. In whose charge is the hospital during the night? 
A. The keepers on night duty, who are outside but can see every 
part of the hospital. 

The Sing Sing prison in account current with the People of the 
State of New-York, for receipts from all sources, and expendi- 
tures for all purposes, from the 1st of October, 1841, to 30th of 
September, 1851. 

DR. 

To amount received for convict labor, 
from 1st October, 1841, to 30 th 
September, 1851, $524,292 09 

To cash from Treasury during the 
same period, including $8,000 re- 
ceived from Hudson River Railroad 
Company, ." 245,616 14 

To cash from all other sources for 
sundries not included in proceeds 
from labor or legislative relief,. . . 22,981 62 



$792,889 85 
To balance cash in hand on the 1st day of October, 

1841, 2,412 15 



$795,302 00 



CR. 

By amount of expenditure for. the 

general support of convicts from 

the 1st day of October, 1841, to 

30th September, 1851, $300,756 96 

By salaries of prison officers, and pay 

of prison guards during the same 

period, 305,715 99 

By cash, paid for building and repairs 

during the same period, 35,947 00 

By amount of expenditure for all 

other purposes, . . . 85,253 04 



$787,672 99 



By balance cash in harjdg^^ , 7,629 01 






$795,302 00 
Sing Sing) Sept. 30/^^1^51. ===== 

E. & O. E. 



236 



[Assembly 



Year. 
1842,. 

1843,. 
1844,. 

1845,. 
1846,. 
1847,. 
1848,. 
1849,. 
1850,, 
1851,. 



Year. 

1842, 
1843, 
1844, 
1845. 



NUMBER OF CONVICTS. 
Males. 

., 720 ..... 

...... 763 ..... 

863 ..... 

...... 797 

758 

725 

...... 661 

635 

694 . . . . . 

723 ..... 



Females. 

65 
76 
72 
61 
68 
89 
83 
78 
71 
74 



Average of monthly 
labor receipts. 



Average of monthly 
cost of support. 



M,344 07 $2,841 93 

2,896 99 2,432 08 

3,620 61 2,338 17 

5,273 56 3,483 97 



1846,. 4,721 97 



3,184 10 



1847, 

1848 

1849, 

1850, 



4,671 44 3,066 54 

4,156 11 3,624 89 

4,228 77 ...... 3,207 84 

4,048 80 2,984 



1851, 5,727 74 2,898 



54 
97 



STATEMENT 

Of the amount of receipts from all sources at the Sing Sing 'prison? 
on the 30th of September, 1842. 



Received for labor in October, . . . 
November, . 
December, . 
January,. . 
February,. . 
March,. 
April, 
May, 
June, 



# 



$3,534 67 
4,266 07 
4,580 32 
4,099 83 
4,763 49 
3,893 24 
3,657 01 
3,257 92 
4,007 11 



Carried forward. 



No. 20,] 237 

Brought forward, § 

Received for labor in July, 4,406 67 

" " August, ...... 4,350 14 

" " September, . . . . 7,324 41 

_ $52,140 88 

Received from State treasury during the same pe- 
riod less $12, collecting fees, 17,988 00 

Received during the same period from all other 
sources : 

For sale of old provision bbls, grease 

and support of U. S. convicts, .... $1,261 70 

Rent of State farm, 114 45 

From visitors during the year, 31 1 74 

Sale of sundry old rags, &c, &c.,. . . 106 33 

1,794 22 

Recapitulation. 

Labor, $52,140 88 

From State treasury, 17,988 00 

From all other sources, 1 ,794 22 

Total receipts for 1842, $71,923 10 



STATEMENT 

Of total expenditures at the Sing Sing prison for all purposes, for 
the year ending 30th September, 1842. 

For building purposes, $651 76 

For support of convicts as follows : 

Provisions, $22,403 39 

Clothing, 6,923 44 

Oil and fuel, 3,688 94 

Hospital stores and medicines, 1 ,087 49 

$34,103 26 

For all other purposes as follows, viz : 

Salaries of officers, $19,126 22 

Pay of guards, 9,363 00 

Sheriff's fees, transporting convicts, . 2,361 52 

For silk manufactory, . ,-f: igj£ > 984 06 

Sing Sing guards, for accoutrements,. 70 25 



Carried forward, $ $ 



238 [Assembly 

Brought forward, $ • $ 

Discharged convicts, . , 652 00 

Iron, steel, cattle feed, oxen, &c, for 

stone shop and quarries, ..... 763 62 

Postage and stationery, 168 71 

Purchase of books, 183 82 

Purchase of material for cooper's, 

shoe, weave, and stone shops, ..... 721 88 

Apprehension of runaways, .... 5775 

Repairs on farm, . 56 45 

Materials and tools for blacksmith's 

and lock shops, 1 ,560 22 

Prison furniture, 1,754 79 

Sundries, 221 97 

38,046 26 

Total expenditure for 1842, $72,801 28 

Total receipts from all sources at the Sing Sing prison for the year 
ending 30th Sept 1843. 
1842. 

Received for labor for October, $1,645 45 

" « November, .. 2,778 34 

" « December,... 3,711 77 
1843. 

Received for labor for January, 3,018 33 

« « February, . . . 3,864 57 

" " March, 1,762 59 

« « April, 5,548 20 

" * May, 2,698 57 

" « June, 2,418 14 

" " July, 2,051 95 

" " August, 2,592 56 

« " September, . 2,673 40 

$34,763 87 

Received from State treasury drawn from the for- 
mer credit account of this prison, 32,5G0 00 

Carried forward, . . . , § 



No. 20.] 239 

Brought forward, $ 

From all other sources as follows, viz: 

Rent of State farm, $905 33 

U. S. C. S. sale of grease, empty bar- 
rels, &c, 1,130 75 

Convicts' deposits upon arrival, .... 29 20 

Visitors during the year, 141 22 

Total from other sources, 2,206 50 

Recapitulation. 

Labor, $34,763 87 

Prom State treasury, 32,500 00 

" other sources, 2,206 50 

Total receipts for 1843, $69,470 37 

Total amount of expenditures for the Sing Sing prison for the year 
ending 30th Sept. 1843. 

For building purposes, $1 ,639 1 6 

For support of convicts, as follows : 

Provisions, $17,251 04 

Hospital stores and medicines, 864 04 

Clothing and bedding, 5,536 59 

Oil and fuel, 5,533 32 

29,184 99 

Other purposes : 
Purchase of oxen, steel, iron, cattle 
feed, &c.j (stone shop and quar- 
ries,) $1,639 60 

Stock, materials, &c, for smiths' 

shop, 1,339 72 

Postage and stationery, 248 65 

Books for library, 161 96 

Travelling and incidental expenses, . 169 30 

Furniture for prison, 753 48 

Expenses incurred on State farm, &c, 84 47 

Convict deposits upon discharge, ... 11 00 

Machinery and salary for silk works, 1,934 51 

Paid discharged convicts, 607 00 

Carried forward, $ $ 



240 [Assembly 



Brought forward, $ 

Paid for freight, machinery and coal, 51 63 
Miscellaneous, apprehension of con- 
victs, &c, 888 50 



7,889 82 



Salaries of officers, $18,653 88 

Pay of guards, 9,290 75 

27,944 63 

Recapitulation. 

Buildings and repairs, . . $1,639 16 

Support of convicts, . 29,184 99 

Other purposes, 35,834 45 

Total amount of expenditure for 1843, $66,658 60 



Total receipts from all sources at the Sing Sing jmson for the year 
ending 30th September, 1844. 
1843. 

Amount rec'd for labor for October, $1,263 82 

" " " Nov.,.. 2,123 88 

" "' " Dec.,.. 3,810 56 
1844. 

" « « Jan.,,. 1,542 98 

" « « Feb.,.. 3,338 68 

" " « March, 3,811 07 

" " " April,. 5,071 11 

" " ' " May,.. 4,059 63 

" " « June,.. 2,631 50 

" " « July,.. 4,248 42 

" " " August, 4,920 95 

" " " Sept.,.. 6,624 81 

Total for labor in 1844, $43,447 41 

From State Treasury from fund to credit of this 

prison for stone previously delivered, ..... 19,500 

From all other sources : 

U. S. C. S. and sale of grease, old 

bbls., &c, $784 22 

Bent of State House, &c, 373 67 

Carried forward, $ 



Wo. 20. J 241 

Brought forward, $ 

Visitors during the year, 236 62 

Sale of old iron, &c, 153 82 

Convicts' deposits upon arrival, .... 70 71 

Sale of sundry empties, lumber, &c., 32 37 

— $1,651 41 

Recapitulation. 

Labor,.... 43,457 41 

State Treasury, 19,500 00 

Other sources,.,. 1,651 41 

Total receipts for 1844,. . .... $64,596 82 

Amount of expenditure for all 'purposes at the Sing Sing prison for 
the year ending 30th September, 1844. 

For building purposes, $2,027 32 

For convict support, as follows, viz-. 

Provisions, $20,007 97 

Hospital stores and medicines,. . . ... 1,087 21 

Clothing and bedding, 3,984 80 

Oil and fuel, 2,312 28 

Support of lunatic convicts,. ....... 665 82 

Paid for convict support, 28,058 08 

Disbursements for .all other purposes, viz : 

Salaries of officers, . . . $1 5,984 95 

Pay of guards, 9,539 50 

Stone shop and quarries, 2,456 2$ 

Purchase of material for smiths' and 

silk shop, 950 73 

Prison furniture, 2,964 00 

Incidental expenses, 916 49 

Paid discharged convicts, .... ..... . . 608 00 

Expenses for State farm, .... 5 00 

Postage and stationery, 485 25 

Paid for Sing Sing and prison guard 

accounts, 193 10 

.Reimbursed convict deposit, 100 

Carried forward, $ 

[Assembly, No. 20.] 16 



242 [Assembly 



Brought forward, .„ $ 

Purchases for prison library, . . 25 37 

Eecapitulation. 

Buildings, $2,027 32 

Convict support, 28,058 08 

Other disbursements,. . 34,129 68 



14,129 6& 



Total expenditure, 1844, $64,215 08 



Total amount received from all sources at the Sing Sing prison? /or 
the year ending SQth September, 3845^ 
1844. 

Received for labor in October, 

" " November, . . . 

" u December, . . . 

1845. 

Eeceived for labor in January, . .... . . 

February,. . . .. 

March, 

April, ... 

May, 

June, ........ 

July, 

August, ..... . 

September, ... . . 



u. 


u 


i'L 


u 


a 


u 


u 


u 


a 


u 


a 


a 


u 


a. 


a 


a 



;6,450 


47 


4,364 


47 


8,328 


12 


5,559 


55 


6,111 


87 


5,485 


46 


4,059 


05 


2,112 


62 


6,170 


24 


4,144 


49 


5,701 


59 


4,794 


87 



Total for labor in 1845, $63,282 80 

Received from the State treasury during the same 
period, out of the balance to credit of this pris- 
on for stone previously cut for Albany, $17,800 00 

Received from all other sources during the same 

period, for 
Rent of State farm, house, and dye 

house, . * . $662 72 

Cash from convicts upon arrival, . . . 3,9 76 

Received for pens, 3 75 

U. S. C.S. grease, old barrels, &c. sold, 649 78 

Sundry visitors during the year, ... 1950 



,375 51' 



Carried forward, 



No. 20.] 243 

Brought forward, $ $ 

RECAPITULATION. 

Tor labor, $82,458 30 

From State treasury, 17,800 00 

" all other sources, 1 ,375 51 

Total receipts for 1845, $82,458 31 

The total amount of expenditures for the Sing Sing prison, for the 
year ending 30th September, 1845. 

1845. 

For building purposes, $1 ,807 62 

For support of convicts as follows, 

viz: 

Provisions, $25,587 60 

Hospital stores and medicines, 1,562 43 

Oil and fuel, 4,849 08 

Support of lunatics, 914 04 

Clothing and bedding, 8,894 49 

Total for support, $41,807 64 

Expended for all other purposes as follows : 

Salaries of officers, $19,449 67 

Pay of guards, . 10,877 00 

Stone shop and quarries, 3,231 41 

Prison furniture, 2,290 76 

Paid to discharged convicts, 599 00 

Incidental expenses, 2,463 43 

Postage and stationery, 21471 

Convicts' deposit refunded, 40 50 

Purchase of books for library, brush- 
es, &c. for painting, 17 17 

$39,183 65 

RECAPITULATION. 

Building and repairs, $1 ,807 62 

Convict support, 41 ,807 64 

All other disbursements, 39,183 65 

$82,798 91 



244 



[Assembly 



STATEMENT 

Of the cash receipts at the Sing Sing prison, for the year ending 
30th September, 1846. 
1845. 
Total for labor received in October, . . $5,013 28 

November, 4,070 54 

December, 4,520 97 



4,679 15 
4,043 59 
8,112 14 
3,814 23 

5,070 18 
4,950 46 
2,954 77 
3,806 25 
5,625 09 



1846. 

January, . . 
February,. 
March, . . . 
April,.. .. 

May, 

June, .... 

July, . .... 

August, . . 

Septemb'r, 

Total for labor received this year, 

The amount received from the State 

Treasury during the same period 

was 

The amount fom all other sources- 
was as follows : 
Cash deposited by convicts upon ar- 
rival, 

Old rags, paper, &c, sold, 

U. S. C. S. and old provision barrels, 

&c, grease, &c, sold, 

Rent of State farm, &c, 



Recapitulation. 

Actual amount of labor, $56,663 65 

From State Treasury, 18,000 00 

2,301 54 



$196 


98 


734 


50 


945 


90 


424 


16 



$56,663 m 



18,000 00 



2,301 54 



all other sources, 



Total amount of receipts for 1846, 



$76,965 19 



No. 20.] 245 

STATEMENT 

Of expenditure at the Sing Sing prison for the year ending 30th 
September, 1846. 

For building purposes, $2,81 1 73 

For support of convicts as follows : 

Provisions, $22,047 47 

Hospital stores and medicines, 1,405 59 

Clothing, 6,628 81 

Oil and fuel,, 7,189 70 

Tobacco, 222 86 

Support of lunatic convicts at Bloom- 

ingdale Assylum,. 714 80 

38,209 23 
The expenditure for all other purpo- 
ses during the same period was : 

Pay of officers, $18,095 71 

" guards, 10,401 00 

Stone shop and quarries, iron, steel 

and feed, and purchase of oxen, &c, 1 ,224 1 1 

Furniture for prison, 1,967 83 

Paid discharged convicts, 56939 

Incidental expenses, 1,689 57 

Coal for smith's shop, 60 00 

Postage and stationery, 351 78 

Convicts' deposits refunded, 60 78 

Paid for introducing Croton water,. . 2,026 67 

$36,446 84 

. Eecapitulation. 

Building purposes, ,,.... $2,811 73 

Support of convicts, 38,209 23 

All other purposes, 36,446 84 

Total expenditure for 1846, ....... $77,467 80 



246 [Assembly 

STATEMENT 

Showing the actual amount of receipts from all sources at the Sing 
Sing prison, for the year ending SOth September, 1847. 

1846. 

To am't of cash rec'd for labor in Oct., $4,239 41 

« " " November, 4,412 96 

« « " December, 4,056 61 

1847. 

« " " January,.. 5,223 45 

« " " February,. 4,179 84 

« " " March, ... 4,087 34 

« " " April, .... 5,229 22 

« « « May, 5,432 03 

" « « June...... 4,373 25 

" " " July, 4,572 01 

« « " August,... 5,131 96 

« « " September, 5,119 20 

Total for labor during the year, $56,057 28 

The average of which is, $4,671.44 per month. 

The amount received from the State treasury du- 
ring the same period, was 7,100 00 

The total cash receipts from all other sources, was : 

U. S. C. S., and for old provision bar- 
rels, grease, &c, sold, $1,498 37 

From visitors during the year, 326 25 

Cash deposited by convicts upon arri- 
val, 79 14 

Damages from the Hudson R. R. Co., 8,000 00 

— $9,903 76 

Recapitulation. 

Cash from labor, $56,057 28 

« « State treasury, 7,100 00 

" " all other sources, 9,903 76 

Total amount of cash receipts for 1847, $73,061 04 



No. 20.] 247 

STATEMENT 

Of the actual expenditure at the Sing Sing prison, for the year 
ending 30th Sept ember 3 1847. 

Amount paid for building pur5oses, $986 09 

" " support of convicts, as follows : 

Provisions, $24,047 07 

Hospital stores and medicines, ...... 1 ,082 59 

Clothing, 4,931 24 

Oil and fuel, 5,912 37 

Tobacco, 153 26 

Support of lunatic convicts, . 672 06 - 

Total for support of convicts, 36,798 59 

Expended for other purposes : 

Officers' salaries, „ $18,298 12 

Pay of guard,.. 11,711 25 

Purchase and feed of oxen, iron, 
steel, &c, for stone shop and quar- 
ries, 3,163 36 

Furniture for use of prison, 975 36 

Mileage to discharged convicts, 487 14 

Incidental expenses, 694 46 

Reimbursed convicts' deposits, . 91 04 

Books purchased for prison library,. 98 18 

Total for other purposes,. 35,518 91 

Recapitulation. 

Building and repairs, $986 09 

Convict support, 36,798 59 

Officers' salaries, &c, 35,518 91 

Total amount of expenditures for 1847, $73,303 59 



248 [Assembwc 

SMATEMENT 

Of the actual receipts from all sources, at the Sing Sing prison? fwr 
the year ending 1848. 
1847. 

To am't received for labor for Oct., $4,225 70- 

" " " November, 4,076 22 

u " " December, 4,027 16 

1848. 

" " u ' January, „ 4,619 55 

" u ~ ". February,. 2,993 50 

" " " March,... 3,40121 

" " " April, . . . 5,372 08 

" " " May, 3,548 74 

* " " June, 4,910 16 

" " " July, .... 4,695 82 

" " " August,.. 3,396 27 

" " "■ September 4.606 97 

Total amount of labor for tlie year, |49,873 M- 

The average of which is $4,156.11, 
per month, (see Journal B, folio 
173 to 220.) 

To amount received from State trea- 
sury during the same period, ..... 44,858 64 

To amount received from all other 
sources during the same period was: 

For provision, barrels, grease, &c 7 

sold, , . $736 30 

From sundry visitors during the year, 147 63 

Cash deposited by convicts upon ar- 
rival, 44 21 

Rent of State farm-house, 18 00 

Old camphene barrels, &c , sold, 55 0O 

From the U. S. Marshal, support of 

U. S. convicts, 478 25 



1,479 32 



Carried forward, 



No. 20.] 249 

Brought forward, $ 

Recapitulation. 

Total for labor, $49,873 38 

" from State treasury, 44,858 64 

" from all other sources, 1,479 39 

Total amount of receipts for 1848, . $96,21 l r 41 

STATEMENT 

Of the actual expenditures of the Sing Sing prison, for the year end' 

ing 30th, Sept. 1848. 

By building and repairs, $4,355 78 

By actual cost of convict support as under — 

Provisions, ...... $31,073 20 

Hospital stores and medicines, ..... 2,648 11 

Tobacco, 476 57 

Oil and fuel, 4,509 64 

Clothing, 4,626 73 

Support of lunatic convicts, 164 53 

Total for support of convicts, $43,498 78 

Paid for other purposes during the year as follows : 

Officers' salaries, $20,715 62 

Pay of guard, 11,825 25 

Sundry prison furniture, 61456 

Iron, steel, cattle feed, &c, and pur- 
chase of oxen for the stone shop 

and quarries, 2,757 88 

Reimbursed convicts' deposits, 53 77 

Postage and stationery, 504 47 

Paid on account Croton waterworks, 1,521 04 

Incidental expenses, 743 62 

Paid discharged convicts, 1,1 91 51 

Damages paid Hotchkiss & Smith, . . 9,439 13 

$49,363 85 

Recapitulation. 

For building purposes, $4,355 78 

" support of convicts, 43,498 78 

" all other purposes, 49,363 85 

Total expenditure for the year 1848, $97,221 41 



250 [Assembly 

STATEMENT 

Of the actual receipts from all sources at the Sing Sing prison for 
the year ending 30th Sept. 1849. 
1848. 

To cash for labor in October, $4,1 10 65 

" « November, 4,919 70 

« « December,.... 2,772 70 

1849. 

" « January, 3,939 17 

" « February, ...» 1,785 19 

« « March, 3,528 30 

" « April, 4,479 72 

« " May, 4,362 04 

" " June, 3,604 60 

" July, 3,929 44 

" « August, 4,866 20 

" « September, . . . 8,447 54 

Total amount received for labor, $50,745 25 

The amount received from State Treasury during 

the same period, was, $26,270 00 

And from all other sources during the same period, 
For rent of farm and Croton water,. . $502 17 

Old provision bbls. grease, &c, sold,. 1,711 57 
Convicts deposites' upon arrival,. ... 71 32 

Sale of old lumber, empty packages, 

&c, 113 26 

Costs in law suit recovered, 50 00 

Received from U. States Marshal for 

support of U. S. convicts, 309 00 

From visitors during the year, 165 94 

■ — $2,923 26 

Recapitulation. 

Total from labor, $50,745 25 

" State treasury, 26,270 00 

" all other sources, 2,923 26 

Total amount of receipts for 1849, $79,838 51 



No. 20.] 251 

STATEMENT 

Of the actual expenditure at the Sing Sing prison for the year 
ending 30th Sept., 1849. 

For building purposes, $2,530 28 

For support of the convicts during same period : 

For provisions, $23,381 53 

" hospital stores and medicines, . . 1,935 80 

" clothing and bedding, 5,501 62 

" oil and fuel, 7,466 69 

" tobacco,. 208 53 

Total for support of convicts, $38,494 17 

Expended for all other purposes, as follows : 

Salaries of officers, $21,284 20 

Pay of guard, 11,656 85 

Purchase of oxen, iron, steel, and 
feed for cattle for stone shop and 

quarries, . . . * 1 ,591 65 

Sundry prison furniture, 1,041 46 

Stationery and printing, 954 34 

Discharged convicts, 1 ,1 10 00 

Convicts' deposites refunded, 69 53 

Refunded to railroad contractor, 377 20 

Incidental expenses, 2,740 60 

Total from all other sources, $40,825 83 

Total amount of expenditure for 1849, $81,850 28 

STATEMENT 

Of receipts from all sources, at the Sing Sing prison, for the year 
ending 30th September, 1850. 

1849. 

Amount rec'd for labor in October, . . $2,701 57 
" " " November, 2,283 02 

« " « December, 5,300 36 

Carried forward, 



252 



[Assembly 



Brought forward, 


$ 


t 


1850. 


Amount rec'd for labor in January, , . 


2,250 07 




" " " February,. 


3,323 21 




" " " March,... 


2,600 34 




" " " April, 


3,246 65 




" " : " May, 


3,566 51 




" " " June, .... 


4,453 42 




" " " July, 


4,463 53 




" " " August,.. 


5,885 77 




" " " September, 


8,511 17 




Total amount received for labor,. . . . 


. . 


$48,585 65 



The amount received from the State treasury du- 
ring the same period was -. 41 ,587 50 

The amount received from all other sources was as 
follows, viz : 

Sale of empty packages, grease, swill, 

&c, Croton, &c, $3,529 02 



297 06 



284 25 



Rent of State farm, 

Support of U. S. convicts from U. S. 
marshal, 

Cash deposited by convicts upon ar- 
rival, 

Cash received from naval hospital,. . 

From superintendent Dutchess Co. 

and Auburn, 

Cash from visitors during the year,. . 
Error overpaid in acc'ts received back, 



Recapitulation. 

Received for labor, $48,585 65 

" from State treasury, 41,587 50 

" " all other sourees, 4,893 74 



159 


69 


221 


49 


77 


88 


309 25 


15 


10 



4,893 74 



Total receipts for the year 1850, 



,066 89 



No. 20.] 253 

STATEMENT 

Of the expenditure at the Sing Sing prison, for all purposes, for 
the year ending 30th September, 1850. 

For building purposes, $16,474 06 

Tor the support of convicts as under — 

Provisions, $27,660 71 

Hospital stores and medicines, 2,016 54 

Clothing and bedding, 4,670 31 

Oil and fuel, 1,466 91 

Total for convicts' support, 35,814 47 

For all other purposes as under, viz : 

Salaries of officers, $21 ,990 88 

Pay of guards, 11,968 25 

Purchase of oxen, feed, iron, steel, &c 1,777 71 

Furniture, 688 39 

Postage and stationery, 41685 

Discharged convicts, 959 09 

Convicts' deposits refunded, 128 57 

Incidental expenses for the follow- 
ing purposes : 

Croton water, 2,437 50 

Law expenses, 2,500 00 

Sundries, 672 87 

— 43,540 11 

Eecapitulation. 

For building purposes, $16,474 06 

For convict support, 35,814 47 

For other purposes,. 43,540 11 

Total expenditure for the year 1850, $95,828 64 



254 [Assembly 

STATEMENT 

Of 'receipts from all sources at Sing Sing prison for the year ending 

30th Sept. 1851. 

1850. 

Received for labor in October, $5,316 01 

« " November, . . . 4,440 26 

" " December, . . . 5,421 97 
1851. 

" « January, 5,134 96 

« « February,.... 5,218 77 

" " March, 6,022 60 

" " April, 5,927 65 

" « May, 6,589 98 

« " June,... 5,829 69 

" " July, 5,921 95 

" ¥ August....... 6,454 04 

" " September, . . . 6,454 04 

Total for labor in 1851, $68,731 92 

Received from State treasury, special appropria- 
tions for payment of old debts, 12,000 00 

Received from all other sources : 

Sale of grease, old barrels, &c, &c. v $1,048 33 

Support of U. S. convicts, 497 00 

Deposits by convicts upon arrival,. . 17 49 

Cash from visitors this year, 361 92 

Rent of State farm, &c, 234 97 

Sale of old rags, paper, &c, 226 58 

Empty oil and camphene bbls., 31 00 

Empty hospital packages, 35 00 



2,452 29 



Recapitulation. 

Labor, $68,731 92 

From State treasury, 12,000 00 

" all other sources, 2,452 29 



$83,184 21 



No. 20.] 255 

STATEMENT 

Of expenditure for all 'purposes at the Sing Sing prison, for the 
year ending 30th September, 1851. 

For building purposes, $2,663 20 

For support of convicts as follows, viz : 

Provisions, $25,650 30 

Clothing, 4,108 96 

Oil and fuel, 2,934 44 

Expenses conveying lunatic convicts, 63 75 

Hospital stores and medicines, 2,030 30 

Total, including old provision debts, 34,787 75 

For all other purposes : 

Salaries of officers, $23,620 39 

Pay of guards, \ 11,863 50 

Stone shop and quarries, powder, feed 

of cattle, iron, steel, &c, and oxen 

bought, : 2,037 45 

Prison furniture, ! 927 08 

Cash refunded to discharged convicts, 123 41 

Incidental, law charges, &c, 2,163 68 

Discharged convicts (mileage, Sec.),. 1,132 14 

Postage and stationery, 187 22 

42,054 87 

Recapitulation. 

Building and repairs, $2,663 20 

Convict support, e 34,787 75 

For other purposes, 42,054 87 

$79,505 .82 



256 



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